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Keir Starmer didn’t barn storm the White House – he barn-owled his way into the Oval Office wisely giving the big bird confidence enough to spread his wings in welcome.
Sir Keir’s title has never mattered so much. He perched on a White House chair upholstered in gold and produced a letter embossed with the Royal crest from his breast pocket. It contained a letter of invitation for a second state visit to the United Kingdom, personally signed by King Charles II.
The royal moniker was painted with a thick black broad nib the 47th president would recognize.
Royal messenger Sir Keir cooed and bobbed as he explained, over and over, what an unprecedented honour was being done for Trump – who will be the first sitting president to have had two state visits in one lifetime.
“This is really special. This has never happened before,” Sir Keir insisted.
“This is a very special letter. I think the last state visit was a tremendous success His Majesty the King wants to make this even better,” the British PM channeled Trump’s passion for hyperbole – and it worked.
Trump’s peevishness, his pouting, and brittle responses to anything that doesn’t like, washed away as he settled into something approaching warmth and charm. His change of mood, and tone, may have historic strategic importance.
First fawning, then firm, Starmer stuck to the British and European policy on peace talks on Ukraine that there would need to be a US security guarantee behind it (which so far Trump had ruled out).
Starmer insisted that any future peace deal could not “reward the aggressor”.
But rather than clash with Trump over Russia he quickly mentioned a mutual enemy (which happens to be supporting the Kremlin in its war against Ukraine) by adding: “Or that gives encouragement to regimes like Iran.”
They both agreed that history should be on the side of the peacemaker.
Starmer leaned in hard on making Trump feel comfortable. And that his fellow leaders in Europe agreed with him, with Trump, that they should pay their way to defend their own continent.
After their talks in the Oval Office Trump told Starmer “you’re a very tough negotiator – however, I am not sure I like that, but that’s OK.” And added that: “The Prime Minister and I got off to an outstanding start.”
Starmer had endorsed the principles of a mineral deal, to be signed on Friday at the White House between Trump and Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky.
It will be an outline of a more complex arrangement to be negotiated later but sets out the basis for an investment fund and mineral rights for the US to be jointly managed by the US and Ukraine.
Crucially it means that the US, and the Trump administration, have skin in the game on the Ukrainian side. Until now Trump had behaved as if Vladimir Putin was the wronged party in the invasion of Ukraine and the abuses that have followed by Russia.
He has taken Russia’s side in setting out the conditions that Ukraine would have to accept in a peace deal it has not even been invited to help negotiate.
A week or so ago he sneered at president Zelensky calling him a “dictator” and a “modestly successful comedian”.
After his session with Sir Keir in the Oval Office he emerged, and when asked if he still considered the Ukrainian leader, who was democratically elected, to be a “dictator” replied: “Did I say that? I can’t believe I said that. Next question”.
That was as close to an apology as Trump has ever got.
On Friday Zelensky is due in the White House to sign a mineral deal with the US.
Trump said the agreement would mean that Americans would be “dig, dig, digging” in Ukraine which would deter future violations of a peace deal by Russia.
“We are a backstop because we’ll be over there, we’ll be working in the country,” Trump said. “It’s like a huge economic development project so it will be good for both countries.”
This doesn’t go far enough for Europeans or the UK. But it brings Trump back closer to them. And closer to Ukraine.
Macho talk helps too. “I see the threats we face and the UK is all in,” said Starmer who had announced an increase in defence spending of 2.5 per cent of GDP for the UK where the entire armed forces are a fraction of the size of the US Marine Corps.
Trump was galvanized by his own talk of British military prowess and acknowledged the bravery of Ukrainians in their fight against Russia and even made a nod to the role of Zelensky.
The Ukrainian leader’s visit will not involve the standing ovations and speeches he has given on Capitol Hill – but he will know that the Starmer warm-up act had worked and that he will have a more receptive audience in Trump.
Angry at the danger Trump’s friendship with Putin poses to his country, and his health, Zelensky has Starmer’s owl-like approach to thank for getting Trump to tuck away his talons – for now.
