Starmer did well yesterday

[oceanflow]

I mean, he was never going to magic a Trump personality transformation in the space of a couple of hours. But he walked the Trump tightrope well. I found the whole thing fascinating - particularly the contrived flattery. The mode of these US diplomatic visits now reflects the way you would visit a senile, elderly relative - any other leader would find it patronising, but it's all totally lost on Trump. The flourish if the state visit invite was hilarious. I was never a fan of Starmer particularly and thought he lacked charisma as a leader. But now I'm glad to have a leader who is about the tasks at hand, not simply his own ego. AIBU?

That's interesting. I hadn't seen the Telegraph write up.

Starmer did well not to look too uncomfortable

He played the game like Macron he knows Trump has no respect for him but he has to show who is top dog

Trump only respects leaders like Putin and Kim Jong Un

I think he would have respected Thatcher but not anyone who is as diplomatic as Macron, Blair or Starmer

This. The Royal visit will account for nothing in regards to alliance/goodwill once Trump has had his bigly photo op.

Yes, Starmer did a good job for us yesterday.

Today, I am both relieved and grateful to have him as PM .. and I never thought I would say that

The point @Coolasfeck makes “If he fails, we all fail” is an excellent one.

Your quoting Darren effing Grimes and expecting to be taken seriously? Dirty Donald's obsequious grovelling before Putin is weak,stupid and embarrassing.

Canada pretty unimpressed with King Charles rolling out the red carpet after all he is their head of state and trump has completely disrespected their sovereignty with his 51st state rhetoric. King Charles is not just there for the UK

BBC Americast DID go over Trump asking Kier whether the UK could take on Russia alone.

I watched some videos - it was cringingly embarrassing - the creepy crossed legs body language and constant touching. I thought he looked out of his depth, stilted and anxious. And he was being trolled about his suits, his speech, etc

I do not understand how, given all the insults Starmer and Lammy have made about Trump in the past (poor politics from when they weren't in power) and for which there are receipts, they can in all conscience sit there smiling and pretending they haven't - total vaccillating hypocrites.

Nothing statesmenlike like about either of them.

That's good to know. THAT was the real Trump. The rest of it was Trump's version of diplomacy.

May was weak, very weak, plus as a woman, started with a distinct disadvantage with Trump.. he rarely respects women.

So whats your alternative?

Tell Trump to do one?

The UK is quite popular, generally speaking, with most Americans, if we can escape tariffs, get the USA to continue to help Ukraine, even without a security backstop, its better than doing nothing at all.... or sticking 2 fingers up to him.

Trump's right hand Musk has been busily typing on Twitter for months that England is on the brink of civil war, Starmer is a disgrace, only Reform can save Britain, and that King Charles should step in and remove Starmer as Prime Minister. Also that Starmer is complicit in mass child rape and that Jess Philips is a rape genocide apologist.

So there's every reason for Starmer to feel similarly disrespected by the Trump administration and go on the offensive.

I think Starmer did very well under what were very difficult circumstances .

I think it is naive to think he could do anything else other than flatter Trump . As leaders they often have to do things that are in the country's best interests that they personally find far from ideal .

I think it was clear that a lot of time and preparation went into this meeting and I would rather Starmer is in charge than Johnson or even Sunak .I think Johnson would have been great at the flattery and charm ( as how otherwise did he get all these past female conquests ? ) but he is also legacy driven and would not want to appear weak / concessionary .

Sunak - I think he would also have been able to charm . But at times he maybe went too far - but I am not sure with an ego the size of Trumps you can ever go too far .

Sadly it probably would have also helped with Trump that Starmer was a white man.

I do think that Trump has to be handled carefully and appeal to his need for pomp and self importance - our " trump!!" card here is the royalty ,

Yes we can go all out and Trump could change his mind the next day as he is so volatile , but we see how much damage he can do in one statement on social media so we have to do this with no guarantees .

Rubio never smiles - looks so uncomfortable. He was the first voted into his post with no Dems voting against. I think the view was that he was the only relatively sane adult to be nominated.

Canada is also popular, but Trump is still trying to ruffle feathers with the literal closest ally with a huge shared border. It makes no difference how “popular” the UK is. The mandate is America First. At all costs.

I don’t know what the answer is, but none of us should be surprised when Trump does one over on the UK once we’ve rolled out the red carpet with a Royal visit, same as he did to May.

Yes, he did very well. Totally cringeworthy meeting, of course, but that's diplomacy for you. The danger is that, Trump being Trump, today he's Starmer's best mate and tomorrow he'll call him a [insert expletive of choice] and impose tariffs on the UK.

JD Vance said Trump is like Hitler and now he’s the VP. I don’t think Trump gives a shit what people have said about him as long as he has dominance over them.

Trump forgetting he said such a ridiculous and undiplomatic comment would be worrying. Maybe there is some truth to the dementia rumours.

Yanbu OP, like many others have said he did about as well as he could have. Certainly fared better than I was expecting- I was kinda expecting the worst but he came across well imo.

Well, presumably, Charles will remind Trump that he is also Canada's king. He's pretty deft like that.

We're not as exposed to tariffs as we mainly trade in services.

Men- quite.
I wonder whether any men will have the self awareness to realise this is how women have to placate and indulge their egos much of the time in everyday life.

Diplomacy is not for the squeamish.

As much as I hate the idea of us taxpayers paying for a state visit, the reality is that it was an utter master stroke of King Charles.

We all know that Queen Elizabeth was utterly brilliant at making each president (of any nation) feel that they were her favourite. All of them knew it was flattery of course, but Trump is the only one who spent the last 4 years telling everying that he was the Queen's favourite ever president.

Getting King Charles to invite him for the "only ever second state visit in history" was a master touch - it shows the line of diplomacy and flattery that we need to do for the next 4 years. It shows we're willing to bend/negotiate/flatter, while Trump can puff himself up like a peacock.

The more puffed up he feels, the less inclined he'll be to impose tarriffs on us and will be easier to deal with. We all know that Trump is facinated by the monarchy - it's the one thing he can never buy. It's also worth reminding him that he has businesses in the UK with his golf courses, so threatening the UK with tarriffs will hurt him personally in his wallet. He doesn't want to do that as everything he does is within self interest.

I think Sir Keir handled him very well. He knows when to flatter, mimic tone of voice and body language, yet he also knows how to get his point across factually.

Sunak - I think he would also have been able to charm . But at times he maybe went too far - but I am not sure with an ego the size of Trumps you can ever go too far

Interesting suggestion from the Telegraph article
"Ties were forged too. This was the start of what has become a point of much bemused fascination in Whitehall: That Sir Keir, knighted for services to the legal profession, and Mr Trump, a real estate mogul and TV star turned tub-thumping demagogue, genuinely seem to get on.
Why? There are theories. Some argue the Labour leader is a man not of hidden depths but hidden shallows, a working-class lad whose ideal Saturday is a pint in the pub with his mates before watching the Arsenal match. In other words, a blokiness that chimes with Mr Trump.
“They find each other easy to talk to,” mused one person who has seen them chat up close. “He likes that Keir has no pretension or affectation. He is very straight forward."

So I'm not sure Sunak would have been able to do that, he is way too "posh"

I do not understand how, given all the insults Starmer and Lammy have made about Trump in the past (poor politics from when they weren't in power) and for which there are receipts, they can in all conscience sit there smiling and pretending they haven't - total vaccillating hypocrites. Politics

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