An unprecedented second state visit for a US president. An “extra-large” guard of honor. The UK rolled out not only the red carpet, royal welcome and golden carriage, but also the superlatives for US President Donald Trump’s visit.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s hyperbole on the memorandum of understanding on tech made his guest look almost understated: The prime minister said that the transatlantic partnership paved the way for new technologies to “amplify human potential, solve problems, cure diseases, make us richer and freer.”
Yet there was an inverse relationship between the pomp and ceremony of this trip and its real import, between the grand declarations of amity and the actual state of transatlantic ties. Trump soaked up the sycophancy and was obliging enough to hymn the “priceless” relationship.
While Trump grumbled that Russian President Vladimir Putin had “really let me down,” he showed no inclination for tougher action against Russia despite Starmer’s preposterous remark that Trump had “led the way” on Ukraine and King Charles III’s pointed reference — one that his mother might not, perhaps, have made — to Europe and its allies needing to stand together against tyranny.
US tariffs on British steel have not budged. The promised US$150 billion of investment by US tech firms in the next decade looks less impressive in the context of their global investment in infrastructure; Microsoft alone has pledged to spend US$120 billion on data centers in the next year.
As former British deputy prime minister and ex-Meta executive Nick Clegg said, the UK is a “vassal state technologically.” The government is relying on servicing US artificial intelligence firms rather than bolstering domestic innovation.
Starmer has earned far better reviews for his performance on the world stage than domestically. The international arena is perhaps all the more appealing when he is so embattled at home. Yet almost half of Britons thought it wrong for Trump to receive this second state visit, and even a former Telegraph editor took to the streets in protest.
The arrest of four protesters after an image of Trump and alleged pedophile Jeffrey Epstein was beamed onto Windsor Castle — with an accompanying soundtrack questioning their relationship — was a grotesque misuse of the Malicious Communications Act to restrict protest.
It was all the more galling when those around the president attack the UK’s supposed lack of free speech in curbing hateful disinformation and other dangerous materials.
Giving Trump a bespoke ministerial-style red box embossed with his initials was inconsequential, but a symbolically queasy choice given his willingness to meddle in other countries’ domestic policies. Trump publicly urged Starmer to extract more fossil fuels and suggested using the army to counter illegal immigration.
However, in the world of Trump, a diplomatic interaction that avoids the outright disaster of a public dressing-down or doubling of tariffs is now regarded as a triumph by US allies. Minimizing damage and buying time are the name of the game — although Trump described the transatlantic relationship as “unbreakable,” he delights in fracturing the “status quo,” takes offense easily and likes association with winners; Starmer no longer looks like one.
Former British ambassador to the US Peter Westmacott this week said that the UK still has leverage beyond ego-boosting pageantry and could use it. Instead, inflating modest achievements and demonstrating an absurd deference only makes the UK look smaller.
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