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

Foreign Aid … does anyone evaluate the effectiveness ?
UK Public are the ones being duped. It doesn’t go to help the poor. It goes right into the pockets of their gov elite so they can drive nice cars, buy overseas properties, fill etc Panama banks, send their kids to Eton & Oxford. Whilst their poor come to UK/Eur in small boats and we give them money too

A statesman does the right thing for the country, regardless of his/her personal distaste or embarrassment. Starmer is a statesman, thankfully.

Has Trymp been played like a fiddle? Or have we? Is he really that stupid he seems to be doing quite well for himself considering.

Indeed.

Although perhaps Vance describing him as Hitler was not actually intended to be the insult that we all assumed it must be. Vance does, after all, seem to have quite a lot of admiration for fascists.

That’s rubbish! President Trump knows exactly what he’s doing. He throws a grenade into the room and awaits the results…..

And just look how much he’s done in such a short time. By demanding access to and repayment in minerals from Ukraine he’s neatly positioned Americans to be working on Ukrainian soil/land.

And there you have the “backstop” negating the need for American troops as a guarantor of the peace.
And at last he’s forced the EU wankers to step up to their responsibilities and protect their own back yard.
Europe has been riding on the shirttails of the US for years. The EU machine is run by arrogant, entitled bastards, running two profligate parliaments yet expecting a superpower on another distant continent to guarantee their safety.

Time they had a wake-up call!

It buys goodwill, which then gives us preference for trade deals, even diplomatic incidents - ie do you think the Taliban would have released the British couple they arrested with an apology if we had not still been sending £151m for 24/25 in foreign aid to Afghanistan?

Foreign aid also usually goes via International Red Cross and other NGOs so it is almost exclusively spent on humanitarian efforts.

The days of suitcases with cash being given to warlords and dictators are in the past.

There’s a lot of truth in that.

UK has a king because it is a kingdom.

US has Trump because it is a country.

I have no loyalty to any political party as I don’t subscribe to ideologies. What I do know is that as a woman, my right to vote was hard won for me by previous generations, and I take it very seriously, so I make a judgement call based on the evidence in front of me. I have never expected to find myself in agreement with ALL the policies of ANY political party, as that is impossible.

I have read extensively about the Chagos Islands, and with all due respect you seem to be simplifying the options whilst not understanding the bigger picture. We have an obligation to follow international law if we wish to be taken seriously on the world stage, it is not simply a matter of money. As a nation we are largely responsible for the situation we find ourselves in, much of our historical empire building does us no credit, and this is one of those occasions when dues must be paid.

Trump longs to have a seat at the table with the educated and sophisticated world leaders. He doesn't have a prayer, he is crass to his core, they will only ever humor him.

@LadyBracknellsHandbagg can you say why Lammy can do this for Trump but not the U.K. taxpayer?

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

We will lose international standing as we slash foreign aid and harm people in the process. Maybe even some more epidemics growing or refugees fleeing

But for those who think foreign aid is not useful I'm happy for the billions to go to defence instead.

This. Funny that you think Trump is the one being played.

The EU is small compared to the US. It doesn't have its own army and is still reliant on lots of small powers, so can't guarantee security in the same way that the USA can. 'Riding on their shirt-tails' isn't exactly true seeing as the USA demanded really heavy reparations for WW2. The UK only finished paying ours back in 2006. The USA have profited hugely from the help they put in - as they're doing again with Ukraine, having vastly inflated the amount of reparations they claim to be owed. They are not and never have been noble benefactors for the UK or Europe, they're putting in a) for profit and b) to keep Western values dominant. Trump only seems to care about a) and isn't bothered about b). More fool him if he thinks this will work out well for the USA in the long run.

I like this take on it. When I first read about it, I was pretty annoyed and was a bit why the fuck does this POS get a second state visit?! Fuck that.

However, on reading the other responses, I much prefer the take the invitation was handed over like you would to a two year old who wanted to feel special "Here Donald, we've got this for you, no one has EVER had one of these before, but we are giving this to you. Just you, because we think you are super duper special and clever."

I'm not sure he cares about the USA in the long run, @AnonymousBleep. It's a bizarre thing to say about a President, but there we go. I don't believe he thinks further than his own immediate interests.

And yet he was the one who looked in complete control while KS looked out of his depth. Ive no idea how he managed as a barrister he just kooks so nervous all the time.

He’s not a great orator but I think that’s because his voice is nasal and quite high pitched

Any sane person would be nervous in the presence of a powerful but unpredictable nutter like Trump.

Yes, this is unfortunate for him but probably beyond his control.

He's a Prime Minister, he will have far more scary folk to deal with than Donald Trump.

He isn’t ‘doing it for Trump’ whatever that means, this is an ongoing issue that has succeeded many administrations both Democratic and Republican and Tory and Labour, in short, it’s complicated!

The Chagos Islands are strategically important in that they play a vital role in regional and global security, which is almost certainly why the UK and the US poked their noses in in the first place, many years ago, because it was of benefit to us.

You can use this as an opportunity to bash Starmer and Lammy and this government if you want, but I would advise that you read up on the subject and try to understand the complexities of the situation. It’s not as simple as you are making out.

It's like placating a toddler, really isn't it, on a larger scale!

Like who?

I think Trump is one of the most dangerous people on the planet right now, together with Musk. And the stakes were really high yesterday.

Starmer acquitted himself well despite the pressure, even if some are unwilling to give credit where credit is due.

I certainly don't think Starmer has got everything right in government so far. He has made some significant mistakes. But yesterday, he did well and I'm happy to acknowledge that.

Agree. It’s really not the time to be doing a Love Actually speech. Life isn’t a film.

I think they should pull out all the stops for the state visit but not make any demands of Trump in that time, just work on the relationship a bit. Even phone to ask his ‘advice’ on one or two things (even if not acted upon…). Let things settle, and then wait for the right moment to present itself to address the big issues.

@LadyBracknellsHandbagg that's not an answer.

If the deal can be cancelled on Trump's say so it can be cancelled. No amount of 'it's complicated' from Lammy. He would have just stopped the deal.

Why are you so keen for billions to go on the lease to US rather than foreign aid or military?

No one is going to care the UK shifts on Chagos, not with the huge amount going on in the world

So why do you prioritise keeping the deal over spending on better things?