US President, Donald Trump, has expressed his support for the UK’s Labour Party leader, Sir Keir Starmer, stating that he has done a “very good job thus far” and that he has a “very good relationship” with him. When asked about his relationship with Sir Keir whilst aboard Air Force One, Trump added that the two would be scheduled to have a call “over the next 24 hours”. Trump and Sir Keir have met on several occasions, including a visit by Sir Keir to Trump Tower in New York during the presidential campaign.
Despite Trump’s high praise for Sir Keir, Trump ally and billionaire tech entrepreneur, Elon Musk, has repeatedly called for Sir Keir’s removal from his position. Trump spoke to the press room on Saturday regarding his relationship with the British politician and was subsequently asked about where he might go for the first international trip of his second term. He mentioned Saudi Arabia as an option and noted that traditionally he would have gone to the UK if not for the agreement with Saudi Arabia to buy $450bn of American merchandise.
In November last year, following Trump’s re-election, he and Sir Keir spoke by phone regarding the relationship between the UK and the US. Downing Street announced they agreed this relationship was “incredibly strong” and would continue to thrive. Downing Street also stated that Sir Keir would visit Washington for talks with Trump within the next few weeks. There are diplomatic challenges facing the UK government, such as Trump’s promises to introduce trade tariffs, cut US support to the Ukraine and the UK’s proposed deal to cede sovereignty of the Chagos Islands. It is also uncertain whether Trump will agree to Sir Keir’s nomination of former Labour minister, Lord Peter Mandelson, as the British ambassador to Washington.
Billionaire Elon Musk, a White House adviser who has been critical of Sir Keir, has made statements on social media platform X over the mass grooming scandal, with accusations that the prime minister was “deeply complicit in the mass rapes in exchange for votes”. Sir Keir has denied these allegations and has countered that critics are spreading lies and misinformation. Foreign Secretary David Lammy has described his own name-calling of president Trump as “old news” after he had referred to him as a “woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath
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