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

He did. He's not a fool.

This - they completely understand the situation.

Agree with pp. I think Starmer did the best he could in an almost impossible situation.
The alternative is the new German Chancellor's response. It might feel good in the moment, but the reality of the current situation is Trump will likely make ordinary Germans/EU citizens pay for the grandstanding.
Let's see if he actually follows through with the no tariff promise, though. In the same press conference, he denied calling Zelensky a dictator. So we are all still guessing this stage!

It’s diplomacy. We’re seeing stuff in the open that often plays out behind closed doors. We are absolutely are leveraging our soft power and doing what we can to get what we (and Ukraine, and Europe) want out of Trump. It’s really not comfortable to watch on one level but Trump forces this sort of stuff.

Starmer did a grand job. Can you imagine if that was Liz Truss! We'd be at war with them by now.

Trump doesn't know what he thinks from one day to another (did I say Zelensky's a dictator?) so Starmer (and no doubt Macron behind him) pulled a smooth move. Trump now thinks the UK loves him.

I laughed at the letter giving, it looked a bit farcical, I'm surprised the others there could contain themselves.

Same

It was a masterstroke, playing to Trump's ego. He loves a big splash and it lets the UK get a couple of things done with the US.

Trump rowed back on his comment about Zelensky being a dictator. Let's see how their meeting pans out.

He was mirroring Trump’s language.

He also used ‘tremendous’, which Trump uses often.

Well played to whoever coached him.

It was quite excruciating. But I agree Starmer did a good job at placating the megalomaniac toddler.

Watching all of this transactional international relations played out in plain site is just mind blowing.

Invitation from the king in exchange for preferential trade deals.

Rare minerals in exchange for peace.

And I don’t think it’s true that Trump doesn’t think much of the UK. He loves royalty, he has his golf courses here and likes to think he has respect here. He’s had Farage and Truss telling him how wonderful he is. He has more interest in a relationship with us than Europe, which genuinely doesn’t matter to him.

Trump really is a big toddler.

"Oh you're so clever, look at you! Who's a big boy then, you get a special reward yes you do!"

And Trump sits there soaking all not realising he's being handled.

Starmer played this hand very well and I don’t usually feel that about him at the moment. Trump is a disgusting person, it must have been horrible for any sane adult trying to flatter him like this. Excellent clever public service from both gov and crown here.

It’s not just about Trump. Trump is a reflection of a mood in the US right now. So showing respect to the President is showing respect to the US. It will play well with Trump supporter because it shows DT is forcing countries to respect Americans etc etc.

If a slap up dinner with Charles is what it takes to calm troubled egos so be it.

I actually gasped at that. It’s like double think from 1984

It is exactly like that. And sadly what is going on now.

I'm amazed at how much Trump changes his mind and seems to forget big headlines he has come out with shortly before.

Trump has obvious cognitive issues. He’s also always been prone to denying what he’s said. He’s been handed a giant blank cheque to say whatever he wants by a substantial proportion of the US and as a result says any old shit that he will shamelessly pull back on the occasions that it no longer suits his interests to have said it.

Absolutely. It would be so easy to take the other route, but I think this is wise.

It's sickening and shows just how ridiculous Trump is, but I suppose it shows that the royal family have some use after all.

Oh I'd forgetten they were Sir and Lady Starmer. That will ding Mr Trump's bell too.

I laughed while watching it. At first I was horrified at Starmer but when he pulled the envelope I suddenly realised what he was doing. I cringed because it was like watching a teacher praise a little boy. Absolutely the right thing to do and I'm embarrassed for Trump for eating it up!

I'm not really a Starmer fan but this was a masterstroke, in terms of playing the diplomatic game he did really well. It did make me laugh though with the way they presented it, really was like giving a child prize at a school assembly.

There's talk of a trade deal in the news. Please gos don't let Starmer sell them more of our NHS.

I'm going to guess that Starmer needed a very long shower after that. But it had to be done. The way he used the same toddler language to match Trump's was clever, but must have felt painful.