Chequers (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Donald Trump hailed America’s “unbreakable bond” with Britain Thursday as he and Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed a huge tech deal on the second day of the US president’s pomp-filled state visit. A day after King Charles III treated Trump to a day of royal pageantry at Windsor Castle, Trump flew to Starmer’s Chequers country residence for talks on thorny issues including the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
But Britain’s work in wooing the unpredictable Trump on his second state visit seemed to have paid off as he and Starmer signed the partnership boosting ties in artificial intelligence, quantum computing, and nuclear energy. At the signing ceremony attended by a host of US tech CEOs, Labour leader Starmer said he and Republican Trump were “leaders who genuinely like each other.” “It is the biggest investment package of its kind in British history by a country mile,” he added. Trump said the deal was “very big,” and added of US relations with key NATO ally Britain that “it’s an unbreakable bond we have regardless of what we’re doing today.”
The deal comes on the back of pledges of £150 billion ($205 billion) of investment into the UK from US giants including Microsoft, Google, and Blackstone. Trump had earlier said goodbye to King Charles at Windsor, calling him a “great gentleman and a great king” as he left the castle following a lavish state banquet, carriage ride, and military flypast.
He then flew on Marine One to Chequers, where Starmer and his wife Victoria greeted him to the sound of bagpipes, before going inside the 16th century manor house near London to begin the meeting. The British premier has positioned himself as a bridge between Trump and European allies, particularly on the war in Ukraine, in a bid to secure more commitments for Kyiv from the US leader.
Appealing to Trump’s admiration for British wartime leader Winston Churchill, Starmer led the US president on a tour of Churchill artifacts at Chequers before heading into their bilateral meeting. His warm tone with the 79-year-old Trump has won some leniency in the president’s tariff war, with Starmer saying Thursday the trade deal the two countries signed in May was the first by the US and also “the best.”
But the talks could stumble on several fronts at the joint press conference the two leaders were due to hold at Chequers. The scandal over the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is one issue that is dogging both leaders. Starmer faces political troubles at home after sacking his UK ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, over a furore involving the diplomat’s connections to disgraced financier Epstein. Epstein has also haunted Trump over recent weeks, with further revelations about the pair’s relationship in the 1990s and early 2000s.
There are differences too on Gaza, with Britain reportedly preparing to announce the recognition of a Palestinian state, a step the United States has opposed.
But it was all smiles for Trump on Wednesday as he was lavished with the full pomp and circumstance of the British state — the second time it has done so after his first visit in 2019. “This is truly one of the highest honours of my life,” Trump said at the state banquet. The king meanwhile hailed Trump’s peace efforts and support of Ukraine, after a day featuring gun salutes, soldiers on horseback, and bagpipes, all designed to appeal to the US president’s fascination with royalty.
But he also stressed to Trump, who has rolled back environmental protections since returning to power, the obligations leaders had to “our children, grandchildren, and those who come after them.” Melania Trump remained in Windsor on Thursday morning, where she met scouts with Princess Catherine and viewed Queen Mary’s Doll’s House with Queen Camilla. The US first lady’s husband is being kept far away from the British public, with an estimated 5,000 people marching through central London on Wednesday to protest against his visit.
© 2024 AFP
