WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 Prime Minister Keir Starmer wore a broad smile aboard the plane home from Washington. He landed back in Britain on Friday with the satisfaction of a tricky mission not quite accomplished, but off to a flying start.
Starmer鈥檚 goals for his trip were to persuade to provide Ukraine with security guarantees in any peace deal and head off duties on British goods while pursuing a rapport with an unpredictable U.S. leader who is the center-left prime minister鈥檚 opposite in temperament and political outlook.
On the personal front, he appeared to be remarkably successful. Whether that will bolster U.S. support for Kyiv or spare the U.K. from tariffs, only time will tell.
Good vibes in the Oval Office
Welcoming Starmer in the Oval Office at the White House, a relaxed-looking Trump . He called Britain's leader 鈥渁 special man鈥 and said the two get along 鈥渇amously.鈥
Sitting alongside the president in matching chairs, Starmer didn鈥檛 get to say much 鈥 but he also didn't have any awkward moments.
At a news conference later, the British leader laid on the charm, praising Trump for returning a bust of Winston Churchill 鈥 the Obama and Biden administrations 鈥 to its 鈥渞ightful place鈥 in the Oval Office.
He even compared himself to Trump, saying that although 鈥渨e are from different political traditions. 鈥 We鈥檙e both in a hurry to get things done.鈥
Months of work went into preparing Starmer for this crucial meeting, with British officials strategizing how to strike the right balance of friendship, flattery and frankness.
Starmer walked the line well 鈥 largely sticking to accentuating the positive, while occasionally pushing back. He thanked the president for creating a 鈥渕oment of tremendous opportunity鈥 to end the war in Ukraine 鈥 skipping over concerns in Kyiv and other European capitals that Trump is at the .
Starmer said Trump has made a 鈥渉istoric peace agreement鈥 possible 鈥 though he cautioned that it 鈥渃an鈥檛 be peace that rewards the aggressor,鈥 pushing back on Trump鈥檚 Russia for starting the war.
The British press showed rare unity in declaring the trip a success. 鈥淐harmer Starmer pulls off diplomatic win in White House,鈥 said the front page of the i newspaper, which prides itself on its neutrality.
鈥淲hat an unlikely bromance!鈥 said the right-leaning Daily Mail beside a photo of the two men laughing together.
U.S. support for Ukraine is still uncertain
There were hints Starmer may have nudged Trump鈥檚 thinking, or at least his language, on Ukraine. Trump said he had 鈥渁 lot of respect鈥 for President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the democratically elected leader whom .
The American president said a deal to could come soon, but appeared to offer little on Starmer鈥檚 request for U.S. security guarantees to underpin a ceasefire agreement. are leading efforts to form a European-led military force to safeguard peace in Ukraine, but argue it can only work with the 鈥渂ackstop鈥 of U.S. military might in case of breaches.
Trump said a deal he is due on Friday, giving the U.S. access to , was in itself a security guarantee, because it would bring 鈥渁 lot鈥 of Americans to work in Ukraine.
He expressed confidence Russian President Vladimir Putin would keep his word; Starmer pointed out that the leader has often broken promises.
It was not immediately clear whether Trump is willing to offer more to Ukraine, though he suggested a deal could see some land seized by Russia returned to Kyiv鈥檚 control. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to see if we can get it back,鈥 he said.
That struck a different note from his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, who recently suggested Kyiv of winning all its territory back from Russia.
Starmer is due to debrief Zelenskyy and European allies about his trip at a meeting in London on Sunday.
Starmer tries to avoid tariffs and seeks a piece of the U.S. AI bonanza
On the economy, Trump suggested the U.S. and Britain could soon strike a trade deal where the tariffs he has on other countries 鈥渨on鈥檛 be necessary.鈥
But he offered no promises, saying only that Starmer tried hard to persuade him.
鈥淵ou are a very tough negotiator,鈥 he told the prime minister. 鈥淚鈥檓 not sure I like that, but that鈥檚 OK.鈥
Starmer specified that the agreement in the works is 鈥渁 new economic deal with advanced technology at its core.鈥
Britain aspires to be the third-biggest world power in artificial intelligence and other cutting-edge technology, after the U.S. and China. Starmer has moved to align Britain with the U.S. over the European Union on AI. He said that 鈥渋nstead of over-regulating these new technologies, we鈥檙e seizing the opportunities that they offer.鈥
But his government, along with other European countries, by U.S. Vice President JD Vance for restrictions on online discourse that ask tech companies to remove offending or illegal content.
Vance said during the Oval Office meeting that such laws 鈥渁ffect American technology companies and, by extension, American citizens.鈥
Starmer held his ground, saying that 鈥渋n relation to free speech in the U.K. I鈥檓 very proud of our history there.鈥
A charm offensive aided by a royal invitation and Starmer鈥檚 accent
Starmer鈥檚 trump card in his presidential charm offensive was royalty. In the Oval Office he presented the president with an envelope containing 鈥 on thick, expensive paper 鈥 a letter from King Charles III.
The monarch invited Trump for a state visit, and suggested it be held at Balmoral, the royal family鈥檚 Scottish castle and estate.
Starmer noted that it was 鈥渦nprecedented鈥 for a president to get two such trips to the U.K. Trump was hosted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2019, during his first term in office.
Trump accepted the invitation, calling the king 鈥渁 beautiful man.鈥
And he had one more thing to praise.
鈥淲hat a beautiful accent,鈥 Trump said as Starmer finished speaking during the news conference. 鈥淚 would have been president 20 years ago if I had that accent.鈥
