Donald Trump welcomes Keir Starmer to the Oval Office
The “special relationship” between the UK and the US has lasted, for better or worse, for almost 80 years. Sir Winston Churchill coined the phrase into diplomatic usage in a celebrated speech in 1946.
Over the years there have been many strong connections between Prime Minister’s and US President’s, perhaps most notably Margaret Thatcher’s warm relationship with Ronald Raegan which helped bring an end to the Cold War. Despite coming from opposite ends of the political spectrum, even Tony Blair and George Bush eventually formed a tight bond, with both countries going to war in Iraq despite the opposition of some European allies.
Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan (Image: Getty)
But there have been some awkward moments when that special bond political bond has been tested to its limit.
Former Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson and the Republican president Richard Nixon were poles apart, both politically and in their approach.
John Major and Bill Clinton fell out over the US issuing a visa to Sinn Fein’s Gerry Adams and the brewing conflict in the Balkans during the early 1990s.
While Gordon Brown and Barack Obama never really gelled during the relatively short period when their leaderships overlapped.
And who could forget the frosty relationship between Donald Trump and Theresa May, the former US President famously gripping her hand as the pair awkwardly walked out of the White House together.
Connections were fluid during the Joe Biden years, not least because the former President has lukewarm feelings about the UK, even proudly declaring “I’m Irish” during the 2020 US election campaign.
The fact that we burned through four Prime Ministers – Boris Johnson, Liz Truss, Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer – during his four years in the White House also made it tricky to cement a strong bond.
There was much trepidation as to how the “special relationship” would fare when the 47th US President was elected on November 5 last year.
The returning Donald Trump, a brash Republican New York real estate developer with a taste for controversy, is a far cry from the banal Sir Keir Starmer, a socialist human rights lawyer.
Then there was Labour’s back catalogue of anti-Trump slurs to contend with too.
In 2018, David Lammy, Foreign Secretary until last week, called Mr Trump a “woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath”.
His replacement at the FCDO, Yvette Cooper, joined a women’s march in 2017 to “take a stand against Donald Trump”, saying: “We are marching because the most powerful man in the [US] thinks it’s OK to grab women ‘by the pussy’.”
But it would appear there was nothing to worry about as it seems the special relationship supersedes everything.
George Bush and Tony Blair (Image: Getty)
Sir Winston Churchill and Franklin D Roosevelt (Image: Getty)
At face value, the Trump-Starmer dynamic has been positive.
The pair met for dinner at Trump Towers in New York around this time last year, before his stunning US election victory, with sources at the time saying they got on well.
Sir Keir wasn’t invited to Trump’s inauguration in January, although no British Prime Minister has ever attended the event.
The two leaders met again in February this year when Sir Keir made his first visit to the White House as PM.
Again there were concerns.
Ukraine, the threat of bumper trade tariffs, and a UK-US trade deal were all potential flashpoints.
There was no need to worry.
In an extraordinary show of diplomacy inside the Oval Office, Sir Keir charmed the US President with a hand delivered invitation from King Charles – inviting him to the UK for an “unprecedented” second State Visit.
Trump, clearly revelling in the attention, insisting he was “honoured” to accept and visit such a “fantastic” country.
The genuinely warm moment broke the tension and was preceded by a 30-minute love-in inside the famous Presidential office.
Watching on from one of the Oval Office was Britain’s then-US Ambassador Peter Mandelson.
Sir Keir’s appointment of the Labour Grandee for the plum Washington role was always going to be risky given his past track record of controversies, including his close friendship with the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
But bringing Mandelson was also seen as being a smart move – his ability to charm and schmooze earning him the moniker “Silver Tongue” from the Republican former US President George W Bush.
Gordon Brown and Barack Obama (Image: Getty)
Sir Keir desperately needed the ear of the notoriously volatile President.
What he got – for nine eventful months – was a consummate “Trump Whisperer”.
On the face of it relations with the White House have rarely been stronger.
Lord Mandelson can be credited with several diplomatic triumphs in Washington.
He played a vital role in ensuring the UK escaped the worst of Trump’s tariffs and he was instrumental in securing a much sought-after trade deal between the UK and the US.
And his silky PR skills were displayed inside the Oval Office when the PM theatrically pulled out of his inside pocket the letter from the King.
It was a classic Mandelson stunt.
But it is due to his relationship with Epstein that Mandelson has now lost his job in the US capital.
It could not come at a more awkward time as Trump, who is also embroiled in the scandal surrounding the dead Billionaire, arrives on British soil in just four days time for his much-vaunted state visit.
Mandelson would have played a key role but now won’t figure after being sacked by Sir Keir.
Politics aside, there is no doubt that the current US President has an enduring love for Britain.
It stems from his mother, Mary Anne MacLeod, who was born on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland.
Trump himself has been a regular visitor North of the Border, most recently this Summer when he entertained the Prime Minister during a working-holiday while visiting the golf courses he owns.
The Starmer-Trump bromance was on full display at Turnberry and it’s likely to be the same next week when the two leaders meet at Chequers on Thursday where they will view the Churchill archives.
But his three day trip will largely be a Royal affair as he and the First Lady, Melania, will be staying with the King and Queen at Windsor Castle.
There they will be treated to a flypast by the Red Arrows as well as UK and US F-35 military jets, as well as a special Beating Retreat military ceremony.
The special additions have never been deployed before for a state visit and will take place as well as the traditional grand state banquet and ceremonial welcome.
The Prince and Princess of Wales will play a key part in the high-profile visit.
The President and first lady will also lay a wreath on Queen Elizabeth II’s tomb.
In an increasingly unsettled world both Britain and the USA need the “special relationship” more than ever.