Wow. That was a lot.
I had two tactics going in: one – smile at Donald Trump, try to catch his eye because then he might ask you for a question, and I did get called.
And two, wear something bright so he sees you in the sea of grey. Well, that worked.
The colourful approach also really worked for Sir Keir Starmer, who produced a letter from the King inviting Trump for a second state visit.
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The US president genuinely seemed utterly delighted.
He loves the Royal Family, so this was really some smart diplomacy from the prime minister.
Starmer will be so happy with how that went off, because there were lots of potential landmines on certain areas.
Mr Trump was charming. He did not get into it with the prime minister on the issue of the Chagos Islands and that deal – he was pretty nice about that. And he did not say anything controversial.
On tariffs, the president chose to really lay into the European Union and did not really go to town on tariffs when it comes to the UK.
On Ukraine, he was asked about a peace deal. He thinks it’s going to happen. He was asked about security guarantees. He said: “We’re going to get the deal, and then we’re going to work all of that stuff out.”
When he was asked about whether he would back up UK troops if necessary – well, he did not say no.
Read more:
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Overall, it was a pretty good outing for Starmer and the atmospherics were good.
But blimey – Trump, it is free-flowing. I’ve never been into the Oval Office and had a situation where a president would answer so many questions from journalists.
In the past with President Biden, it was all very ordered and certain people got to ask questions.
Here, it really is free-flowing. It was quite an intense session.
