Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump were keen to showcase their “tremendous relationship” during crunch talks at the White House – which was dubbed a “love-in” by some newspapers.
The pair seemed keen to emphasise their warm feelings for each other, with Trump saying Sir Keir was a “tough negotiator” who had “earned whatever the hell they pay him” during their discussions on tariffs.
The historic visit was labelled a love-in by The Sun newspaper and received a unanimously warm response from the British media, with front pages praising “Charmer Starmer” and the “unlikely bromance” between the two leaders.
Their meeting began with the Prime Minister presenting Trump with the King’s friendly invitation for an “unprecedented” second state visit to the UK, and Sir Keir praising the president for his “personal commitment to bring peace” in Ukraine.
Sir Keir said: “We’re focused now on bringing an enduring end to the barbaric war in Ukraine. Mr President, I welcome your deep and personal commitment to bring peace and to stop the killing.
“You’ve created a moment of tremendous opportunity to reach a historic peace deal. A deal that I think would be celebrated in Ukraine and around the world. That is the prize. But we have to get it right … it can’t be peace that rewards the aggressor or that gives encouragement to regimes like Iran.
“We agree history must be on the side of the peacemaker, not the invader.”
In return, Trump said the UK was a “special place” and the Prime Minister was a “special man” in the Oval Office on Thursday.
He told reporters: “We’ve had a tremendous relationship and, frankly, the Prime Minister and I have met twice before, and we get along very famously, as you would say, and I look forward to it very much.”
In response, Sir Keir thanked Trump “for your hospitality and for your leadership”.
Trump also said he was “very impressed” with Sir Keir’s wife Victoria, who he described as a “beautiful, great woman”.
The president added: “And I said, ‘you’re very lucky’. He’s very lucky.”
Trump: ‘He earned whatever the hell they pay him’
At a press conference in the East room following their discussions, Trump hailed the Prime Minister as a “tough negotiator”.
He said: “Today it’s my privilege to welcome the Prime Minister of a very special place, the United Kingdom, to the White House.
“Prime Minister Starmer, you’ve been terrific in our discussions. You’re a very tough negotiator, however, I’m not sure I like that, but that’s okay.”
He added: “The Prime Minister and I have gotten off to an outstanding start.
Asked if Sir Keir had convinced him not to impose trade tariffs on the UK, Trump said: “He tried.
“He was working hard, I’ll tell you that. He earned whatever the hell they pay him over there, but he tried.
“I think there’s a very good chance that in the case of these two great, friendly countries, I think we could very well end up with a real trade deal where the tariffs wouldn’t be necessary.
“But he earned, whatever they pay him he earned today – he was working hard at lunch and I’m very receptive to it.”
He added: “The Prime Minister and I have gotten off to an outstanding start. The US and UK have a special relationship, very special, really, like no other passed down through the centuries, and we’re going to keep it that way.”
Former prime minister Winston Churchill’s bust has been returned the Oval Office, the President said.
‘Did I say that?’ - Trump responds to Zelensky dictator comments
At one stage, Trump was pressed on his recent comments about Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky being a dictator. In a brief response, the President said: “Did I say that? I can’t believe I said that.”
The US President said he was able to “get along with both” Mr Zelensky and Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
He added: “I have a very good relationship with President Putin. I think I have a very good relationship with President Zelensky.”
Trump praised Mr Zelensky as “very brave” and said he got along with him “really well”, as he appeared to backtrack and take a different tone towards the Ukrainian leader.
Asked if he would apologise to Mr Zelensky for the remark, Trump said: “I think we’re going to have a very good meeting tomorrow morning. We’re going to get along really well.
“I have a lot of respect for him.”
He added: “We’ve given him a lot of equipment and a lot of money, but they have fought very bravely, no matter how you figure they have really fought. Somebody has to use that equipment and they have been very brave in that sense.”
The President and the Prime Minister also agreed to begin work on a new US-UK economic deal after the Prime Minister dangled the carrot of an unprecedented second state visit to woo Trump.
Sir Keir said the two leaders had decided “to begin work on a new economic deal with advanced technology at its core”.
The president, who is set to impose a 25% import tax on UK steel in March, said: “We could very well end up with a real trade deal where the tariffs wouldn’t be necessary”.
It is understood the proposed agreement is likely to focus on technology rather than being an all-encompassing free trade deal.
Starmer: ‘We believe it’s not taking part that counts. What counts is winning’
Trump also insisted he uses tariffs to “even things up” when it comes to trade.
He added: “We’ve been treated badly by a lot, we’re using tariffs and I find […] I find that it’s not about inflation, it’s about fairness, and the inflation for us has not existed. I don’t think it’s going to exist.”
He said that he got into “a lot of trouble with the fake news” for saying his favourite word is tariff and added: “God, love, family, wife, they’re all my favourite words. But tariff is about number four or five on the list.”
The Prime Minister had earlier said: “Mr President, it’s no secret we’re from different political traditions, but there’s a lot that we have in common. We believe it’s not taking part that counts. What counts is winning.
“If you don’t win, you don’t deliver, and we’re determined to deliver for the working people of Britain and America who want and deserve to see their lives improve. So, we’re both in a hurry to get things done, and that’s what the UK and US do when we work together: we win and we get things done.”
Trump was also quick to personally compliment Sir Keir during their press conference. “What a beautiful accent,” Trump said at one stage. “I would have been president 20 years ago if I had that accent.”
During the visit the Prime Minister presented Trump with a golf cap in his family tartan, Downing Street golf balls and Downing Street crystal glasses.
First Lady Melania Trump was given a Liberty scarf, a No 10 candle and a book on the Prime Minister’s Chequers country retreat.
Trump gave the Prime Minister a US soccer shirt with Starmer and the number 10 on the back.
