Donald Trump says he likes UK PM Keir Starmer ‘a lot’

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Donald Trump has raised hopes in London that he can have a constructive relationship with the UK, telling reporters he likes Sir Keir Starmer “a lot” and may make his first overseas trip to Britain since returning to the White House.

TrumpStarmer, who said he would speak to the UK prime minister “within the next 24 hours”, said: “He’s a liberal, which is a bit different from me, but I think he’s a very good man and I think he’s done a very good job. Good work so far.

“I get along well with him. I like him a lot,” Trump told the BBC.

The US president’s positive comments will reinforce a perception in Downing Street that Trump is not trying to clash with Starmer, despite previous tensions with the prime minister and senior members of his cabinet.

Expectations in London are that Trump will not oppose the appointment of Lord Peter Mandelson as Britain’s new ambassador to Washington; He will start working in this position next month.

Starmer’s allies also hope Trump doesn’t Block a disputed contract Whereas Britain would cede sovereignty over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius in return for long-term guarantees on the future of the UK-US military base at Diego Garcia.

Trump did not mention the issue when he spoke to Starmer before Christmas and, speaking on Air Force One, he told reporters: “It was not number one on my list. I’ll be honest with you.”

The US president told a “gaggle” of reporters on Saturday evening that he was fine with Starmer. “He represented his country in terms of philosophy,” Trump said.

“I may not agree with his philosophy, but I have a very good relationship with him.” Trump met Starmer for dinner at Trump Tower last September, which was seen as a positive encounter by both sides.

Asked where he might go on his first international trip of a second White House term, Trump said: “It could be Saudi Arabia, it could be the UK. Traditionally this would be the UK.

“Last time I went to Saudi Arabia it was because they agreed to buy $450 billion worth of US goods.”

Starmer this monthOld Financial Times of Kiev He has had a “constructive” relationship with Trump despite numerous criticisms of the US president by labor ministers in the past.

Trump protest against The involvement of labor activists in Kamala Harris’s failed presidential campaign, while tech billionaire Elon Musk – dubbed by Trump as his administration’s “waste-buster” – called Starmer a “tyrant”.

David Lammy, the UK foreign secretary, previously called Trump “a misogynist, neo-Nazi-sympathizing sociopath”, although Lammy said the two had developed a rapport over a Trump Tower dinner in September.

Downing Street has received no indication from the Trump team that the president will block Mandelson as the UK’s new ambassador, despite Peer’s former role as EU commissioner and his close ties to China. “No problem,” one person briefed on the matter.

Starmer’s team is also confident that Trump will share the view of US State Department and Pentagon officials that the Chagos Islands deal is good for US security, although it has been criticized by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Trump’s positive comments about Starmer contrasted with what he has done since his inauguration about the EU and Canada, both of which the president has suggested could be hit by punitive tariffs.

Jonathan Reynolds, UK Trade Secretary, Argued Britain should not be hit by tariffs as trade between the UK and the US is predominantly service-based and largely balanced.