US President Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer had their first meeting at the White House on Thursday since Trump became president.
When US President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met at the White House on Thursday, there was a mix of compliments and some tension. Starmer tried to persuade Trump to promise US military support for Ukraine in its war with Russia, but Trump didn’t agree. At one point, Trump praised Britain’s strong military and jokingly asked, “Could you take on Russia by yourselves?”
Trump praised the UK for being able to “take care of themselves” and said if Britain’s peacekeeping forces were ever attacked and needed help, he would always support them.
Starmer talked about the strong friendship between the US and the UK, and how the two countries have always helped each other. Trump said the UK had “done a great job” over the years. Starmer replied by saying, “We’ve always supported each other. That’s why our alliance is the greatest for prosperity and security the world has ever seen.”
The British Prime Minister gave Trump an invitation from King Charles for a future visit, and Trump agreed to it. He also said that peace in Ukraine could only happen because of the US President.
“You’ve created a huge chance to make a historic peace deal, a deal that I think would be celebrated in Ukraine and around the world,” Starmer told Trump. “That’s the goal. But we need to get it right.”
Before the meeting, Starmer said a long-lasting peace deal for Ukraine couldn’t happen without US security guarantees, but Trump almost ignored this idea.
The 78-year-old US President said he didn’t think Russian President Vladimir Putin, who ordered the invasion of Ukraine in 2014 and again in 2022, would continue after a peace deal.
Trump, who had criticized Ukrainian President Zelenskyy and called him a “dictator without elections,” tried to fix things while talking to reporters in the Oval Office. When asked if he still thought Zelenskyy was a dictator, Trump said, “Did I say that? I can’t believe I said that.”
“It maybe got a little bit testy,” Trump said. “We want to work with him, and we will work with him.”
During his first Cabinet meeting, Trump said that Zelenskyy would visit the White House on Friday to sign a big minerals deal. This deal is something Trump wanted in return for the US supporting Ukraine’s war. Trump has often said that the US has spent too much taxpayer money helping Ukraine in its war with Russia.
Keir Starmer is the latest European leader to meet Trump. Before him, French President Emmanuel Macron visited the White House on Monday. Their meeting was friendly, but it also showed they had different views on Russia’s war with Ukraine.
