Donald Trump and Sir Keir Starmer have forged a warm relationship since coming to power despite their apparent political differences. The US president has previously heaped praise on Britain’s prime minister, hailing the speed with which they have become friends.
Piers Morgan recalled earlier this year how he messaged Mr Trump after Sir Keir visited the White House, where the PM presented the US leader with a state visit invite. Morgan said Mr Trump then rang him, “very excited” about the unprecedented second state visit.
Writing in The Spectator, Morgan recalled: “We spoke for 15 minutes about everything from Ukraine and Starmer – ‘He’s kind of the complete opposite to me, but I like him’…”
Mr Trump said as much at June’s G7 meeting in Canada, where he told the media: “The relationship that we have is fantastic. We’ve become friends in a short period of time.
“He’s slightly more liberal than I am, to put it mildly. But for some reason we get along.”
The special relationship between Mr Trump and Sir Keir has come as a surprise to many, given the US president’s efforts to upend the international order and former lawyer Sir Keir’s being a stickler for global laws and norms.
Downing Street has said the state visit will demonstrate that the UK-US relationship is the strongest in the world and is built on 250 years of history.
No.10 said that bond is bound by shared values of “belief in the rule of law and open markets”.
There was no mention of Mr Trump’s fondness for sweeping tariffs, threats to impeach judges, dismissal of court orders and pursuit of the media through US courts.
Sir Keir will also be hoping the visit will generate some favourable headlines for the beleaguered PM, whose Government has been rocked by the loss of Angela Rayner as deputy prime minister and ongoing fallout from the sacking of Peter Mandelson as Britain’s ambassador to the US.
The PM, meanwhile, has said he “understands what anchors” Mr Trump. The prime minister told the BBC in July that he found common ground with Mr Trump and their “good personal relationship” helped secure a US tariff deal.
He also revealed Mr Trump reached out to offer his condolences after the death of Sir Keir’s younger brother, Nick Starmer, on Boxing Day.
Sir Keir said: “For both of us, we really care about family and there’s a point of connection there. I think I do understand what anchors the president, what he really cares about.”