What Donald Trump told me about Keir Starmer

Two months into President Donald Trump’s second term, the habitual liberal hysteria about his rollercoaster presidential style is reaching shrieking banshee levels again. But as always with my friend in Pennsylvania Avenue, I urge patience and a focus on what he does rather than what comes out of his inflammatory machine-gun mouth. I sense cold, calculating method to all the apparent madness, entirely in keeping with Trump’s election campaign pledges, and predict that – after the current bumpy ride – he will get the US economy purring again, America’s border under firm control and win the Nobel Peace Prize for ending the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Oh, and he’ll annoy a lot of the right people in the process.

The morning after Sir Keir Starmer’s successful recent visit to the White House, I texted Trump to say I’d never seen more positive press coverage for the President in Britain, with front pages waxing ecstatically about our revived Special Relationship. He phoned me immediately, eager to hear more about his soaring popularity in his late mother’s homeland. (Ironically, later that day, he had the Oval Office bust-up with President Volodymyr Zelensky, which led to some of the most negative press coverage Trump’s ever had in Britain, much of it demanding an immediate end to the Special Relationship.) The President was very excited about his unprecedented second UK state visit invitation from King Charles, delivered personally by Starmer – a canny move, playing beautifully to Trump’s ego and genuine love of the royals – and especially when I pointed out that he’ll have been uniquely hosted by different monarchs. We spoke for 15 minutes about everything from Ukraine and Starmer – ‘He’s kind of the complete opposite to me, but I like him’ – to mocking Joe Biden’s senility. ‘Can you imagine him ever calling you like this?’ Trump scoffed.