The Brits are SO smart.

[MsAmerica]

Playing Trump like a fiddle, knowing his weakness for flattery and star power. Starmer begins by presenting a letter of invitation from Charles III.

Donald Trump given letter from King Charles on Ukraine war with special 'unprecedented' invite
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/donald-trump-given-letter-from-king-charles-on-ukraine-war-with-special-unprecedented-invite/ar-AA1zVHbC

UK Prime Minister Starmer Presents Trump With An Invitation From King Charles For A State Visit: "This Is Really Special"
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2025/02/27/uk_prime_minister_starmer_presents_trump_with_an_invitation_from_king_charles_for_a_state_visit_this_is_really_special.html

Re Chagos

Trump doesn't care. I do!

It's our taxpayer money. Huge quantities of it that could be spent on idk some good defence kit or to helping stop illness spread or girls' education o/s.

We're slashing foreign instead or it could go to new military stuff which we need.

All because politicians need to win and feel happy Trump said ok.

Madness. Every taxpayer should think do I want to cough up these billions for no need.

They're probably interfering to get Reform elected. Farage would be the dream for them. They won't want Labour or any vaguely organised or left-leaning govermnment.

Good point

@Bluebellwood129 - do you want to tell Kemi Badenoch that?

The point about Trump is he all about "team me". His start and end point. There have been some silly ideas by Conservatives and Reform that he has ideological sympathy with them.

In that sense, Starmer's "invite" was a good appeal to Trump. All of our work with the US should take that on board.

The UK team did a great job.

Trump is a clown. A man without the intellectual or cognitive capabilities to be the US president. He's just a front for the multinationals running the US. If you think those multinationals care about monarchy,, pomp and ceremony, you're living in Disney World.

@bombastix I know you're for Labour but would you really want billions to go on the Chagos deal over foreign aid to help others or military kit for U.K.?

As I understand it, we do not have a choice legally but to make such a deal to settle. It's not really something I want the UK to do - but we lost.

@bombastix no it's not legally binding that's the point

It was advisory. We don't have to do it

Agree!

So, not exactly "special" .....

I suspect that Trump’s view of the Chagos deal is quiet amusement. The UK pays through the nose; the US gets to keep an important military base for 100 years. And Trump just thinks that if it came down to it at some point in the future, the US would just override by force any attempt to eject or limit the US base.

I still can’t for the life of me understand why we’re paying a penny for this.

@Rummly exactly

I think it's because Starmer is excited he's beaten Badenoch and that's more important than taxpayers

It's madness. It's billions

More "toxic" or even "abusive".

I don't agree, I don't think Trump remembers anything except the last conversation he's had with whoever - so an invite from the King will trump (sorry) any remarks any Labour politician made in the past

Was the point that the UK had no further credible legal arguments to say why it did not agree? I think so, which the Conservatives accepted back in 2019. It may suit people latterly to say well we don't have to do it, but in effect, we do have to settle

The Chagos deal is madness. It was advisory! The Mauritians are not our particular friends! There is literally no upside whatsoever for Brits to do this and no compulsion either. In very stable times when the economy is flourishing then yes perhaps we could do it and garner a weeny bit of soft power in the form of respect but this is desperate times.
Sack off the deal and sell Chagos to the US. Use some of the money to compensate the Chagossians and the rest on defence.

That very much depends how many rare minerals Ukraine actually has. If Zelenskyy's offering him half of fuck all, and playing Trump who thinks he's playing him, then good for him.

If the royal family can help manage this dangerous moron then thank fuck we have them.
I hope those who want them removed will reflect on the value of soft diplomacy in future.
Also thank fuck neither andrew or harry will be anywhere near it.

Interesting course of action. Can you think of why it was not pursued from 2019? I can

This

@bombastix how did Lammy say this? It doesn't have to go ahead.

'The Chagos Islands deal will not go forward without the support of US President Donald Trump, the foreign secretary has said.'

We were doing it to look good on the world stage. I would argue foreign aid delivers far more bang for buck for that with extra benefit of stopping epidemics grow or refugees flee.

Or for the harder nosed more military kit for us.

That's not what it looks like at all, though. It looks, bizarrely, as though Trump has shaped US power in his own image and one of the most powerful nations in the world is being run to flatter the ego of a vain, stupid toddler.

I don’t much like Starmer. Or am unsure considering the shit show so far.

But I was impressed last night. They are very different people and he swallowed his pride and looked for common ground.

That shows guts imo. Welldone!

I wonder if this thread is reverse psychology. In other words, it's MsAmerica/The Americans who're actually so smart but the 'The Brits' are here enjoying the ego stroke of being described as "so smart" and talking about how much they've played Trump...and Putin and Elon and, and, and...

...before any real outcome.

And googling @bombastix

There's no binding effects.
'
The fact that the ICJ Opinion was merely advisory with no binding effects on the UK provided UK politicians with a fig-leaf of sorts,'