Latest news with #UKUSrelations
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Sir Keir must make the most of Trump's visit
Donald Trump arrives in Britain this weekend on what is ostensibly a five-day private trip to his two Scottish golfing establishments. The President will be met by ritual protests, but in fact this visit is a golden opportunity for the United Kingdom. The Irish knew how to make a fuss of Joe Biden. Whatever the British may privately think of Donald Trump, we need his goodwill. The Prime Minister should make the most of the President's Scottish heritage and his fondness for all things Caledonian. Mr Trump's links to Scotland are rather closer than those of Mr Biden to Ireland. On Monday Sir Keir Starmer will be meeting Mr Trump for talks and lunch at one of his golf clubs, Turnberry, and later accompanying him to the other presidential course at Menie. Sir Keir will be hoping to steer the conversation on to trade: he needs to persuade the President to strike a deal on steel and to exempt UK pharmaceuticals from a threatened 200 per cent tariff. The PM may also seek to discover first-hand whether Mr Trump really has turned against Vladimir Putin's Russia and will now stay the course with Ukraine. These are legitimate matters for a British PM to raise with an American president. Mr Trump, however, is no ordinary Potus: he is quite likely to offer his opinion about issues here that have caught his attention, such as migration or free speech. He may also give Sir Keir a piece of his mind about Emmanuel Macron's gesture politics on Palestine, or indeed anything under the sun. If something like this happens, the Prime Minister will just have to grin and bear it. Sir Keir must play a long game.
The Independent
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Poll of the day: Is hosting Trump good diplomacy – or a diplomatic disaster waiting to happen?
Donald Trump is making two visits to the UK this year – a private trip focused on his Scottish golf courses, and a full-blown state visit in September, complete with a welcome from King Charles III. The US president is spending time at his resorts in South Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire and is expected to meet Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Scotland's first minister, John Swinney. He also plans to open a new course dedicated to his Scottish-born mother. While Downing Street has hailed the trip as a 'historic' opportunity to strengthen UK-US ties, the invitation has sparked backlash. Protesters have accused Trump of spreading hate, accelerating climate breakdown and undermining democratic norms. A wave of demonstrations has been planned around both visits – with activists saying the UK should not be 'rolling out the red carpet' for a leader with such a controversial record. In Westminster, several MPs have spoken out against the state visit, with some calling it 'inappropriate' and even urging parliament to deny Trump a platform altogether. But White House sources say no parliamentary address is expected, and insist the trip is purely diplomatic. So, is Trump's upcoming state visit a smart move to preserve international relations – or a mistake that sends the wrong message? Vote in our poll and tell us what you think in the .
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump news at a glance: King Charles schedules state visit as president booed at Club World Cup final
King Charles has invited Donald Trump for an unprecedented second state visit in September, scheduling the trip for three days when parliament is not sitting and removing the possibility of the US president addressing parliament. The visit is a coup for the White House, with Trump becoming the first elected politician in modern history to be granted two state visits, after his earlier one in 2019. But the US president received a frostier reception when he made an appearance at the Club World Cup final in New Jersey on Sunday. Trump was booed and jeered by the crowd during the national anthem before the match and again while presenting the trophy to Chelsea alongside Fifa president Gianni Infantino. Here are the key US politics stories at a glance: King Charles schedules Trump state visit for when parliament in recess Buckingham Palace announced on Monday that Donald Trump would come to the UK from 17-19 September, soon after the House of Commons rises for its traditional break for the annual party conferences. King Charles will host Trump and his wife, Melania, at Windsor Castle, though the palace has not yet set out any other details of the trip. The dates of the trip, however, avoid the prospect of the US president making an address to parliament. Read the full story Trump booed but unbowed at Club World Cup final The US president was front and center for Chelsea's trophy lift and was greeted by widespread boos at the Club World Cup final at a sold-out MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Trump and Fifa president Gianni Infantino jointly carried the trophy to the Chelsea team on the stage after their 3-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain. But while Infantino moved out of frame of television cameras, Trump stayed put, finding himself squarely in focus as Chelsea captain Reece James lifted the trophy. Read the full story Macron calls on EU to 'defend European interests resolutely' from tariffs The French president, Emmanuel Macron, has called on the EU to 'defend European interests resolutely' after Trump threatened to impose 30% tariffs on nearly all imports from the EU. It came as the EU moved to de-escalate tensions after the blunt move by Trump on Saturday. The bloc declared a further pause on €21bn of retaliatory tariffs until 1 August, dovetailing with the US president's new deal deadline. Read the full story Fear and tears in Los Angeles as Ice raids show no sign of slowing On Monday, in an extraordinary show of force, a convoy of federal agents descended upon Los Angeles's MacArthur Park. Chaperones from a summer camp hurried children indoors, as protesters and media rushed to the scene. City leaders denounced the spectacle as a 'political stunt' designed to terrorize Angelenos who have been reckoning with a relentless onslaught of immigration raids that began in early June. The ubiquitous presence of Ice agents, and the threat of arrest, have become a part of daily life for immigrants across the city, while also taking an economic toll on neighbourhoods that have slowed to a crawl as people choose to stay home. Read the full story Trump wants to 'remake' Fema, not eliminate it, Kristi Noem says Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, said on Sunday that Trump wants to have the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) 'remade' instead of eradicated entirely. In a new interview on Sunday with NBC, Noem defended the Trump administration's response to the deadly Texas floods that have killed at least 120 people, saying: 'I think the president recognizes that Fema should not exist the way that it always has been. It needs to be redeployed in a new way, and that's what we did during this response.' Read the full story Rosie O'Donnell dismisses Trump's threat to revoke her US citizenship Rosie O'Donnell has shrugged off a threat from Trump to revoke her US citizenship on the grounds that she is 'a threat to humanity'. The New York-born actor and comedian said on Sunday that she was the latest in a long list of artists, activists and celebrities to be threatened by the US president. 'So, I didn't take it personally, but I will tell you the way that he is has emboldened people like him,' O'Donnell told RTÉ Radio's Sunday with Miriam show. Read the full story 'Cascade of failures' allowed Trump assassination attempt, report says A new Senate committee report on the attempted assassination of Trump at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last year, described the events as a 'cascade of preventable failures' and called for more severe disciplinary action to be taken with the Secret Service in the future. In the 31-page, highly critical findings released on Sunday, the Senate homeland security and governmental affairs committee lamented the mishandling of communications around the rally and said Trump was denied extra security on the day. Read the full story What else happened today: Trump said the US will send Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine to help it fight off Russian attacks amid a souring of his relations with Vladimir Putin. Kevin Hassett, the White House economic adviser, said Trump has seen some trade deal offers and thinks they need to be better, adding that the president will proceed with threatened tariffs on Mexico and the EU if they don't improve. Catching up? Here's what happened on Saturday 12 July.
Daily Mail
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Trump shrugs off not being able to give speech to Parliament during State Visit saying MPs should 'go and have a good time' instead of returning to Westminster
Donald Trump has shrugged off not being able to give a speech to both House of Parliament during his State Visit. The US president is due in the UK for a ceremonial visit from September 17-19. But the trip is happening while the Commons is in recess - meaning he will not get the honour of addressing both Houses. Nigel Farage yesterday demanded a recall of MPs so a speech could happen, pointing out that Emmanuel Macron gave one during his ceremonial visit last week. In an interview with the BBC, Mr Trump made clear he was not concerned and would prefer that MPs 'go and have a good time' in their conference recess. Asked what he wanted to achieve during the visit, the president said: 'Have a good time and respect King Charles, because he's a great gentleman.' Keir Starmer dramatically extended the official invitation from the King as he wooed Mr Trump at the White House in February. Mr Trump will be the only leader in modern times to carry out two ceremonial visits, with the first having happened in 2019. However, there has been a backlash from some left-wing MPs who launched a campaign to block him from addressing Parliament. There have also been concerns about protests in London, with polls suggesting Mr Trump is deeply unpopular with Brits. Meanwhile, Mr Trump has hit out at 'sloppy' implementation of Brexit as he argued the process is now back on track. The US president is a long-time critic of the EU and championed the idea of the UK leaving the bloc during his first White House campaign in 2016. Mr Trump drew parallels with his 'Make America Great Again' movement, and paraded Nigel Farage at rallies. However, efforts to strike a Transatlantic trade deal ultimately fell short in his first term. Mr Trump stressed he still thought Brexit had been the right decision. 'I think it's been on the sloppy side but I think it's getting straightened out,' he said. The president appeared to credit Keir Starmer for the improvements, while admitting their political differences. 'I really like the prime minister a lot, even though he is a liberal. I think he's good, he did a good trade deal with us which a lot of countries haven't been able to do,' he said. Mr Trump said he did now support Nato's collective defence principle after member states agreed to ramp up spending. But he suggested he was only confident that Britain would step up to fight alongside the US if the need arose.
CNA
15-07-2025
- Politics
- CNA
UK to roll out red carpet for second Trump state visit
LONDON: Britain will welcome Donald Trump for an unprecedented second state visit in September, Buckingham Palace confirmed on Monday (Jul 14), saying he would stay as the guest of King Charles III at Windsor Castle. The US president, "accompanied by the First Lady Mrs Melania Trump, has accepted an invitation from His Majesty The King to pay a state visit to the United Kingdom from Sep 17 to Sep19", said a palace statement. The visit will come only two months after King Charles, and his wife Queen Camilla, welcomed French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte to Windsor. Trump was invited by a personal letter from Charles, which Prime Minister Keir Starmer handed to him in February during a visit to Washington. Starmer has sought to woo Trump with a charm offensive to boost ties and gain better leverage for the UK in tough trade talks with Washington. A delighted Trump, who has long been a big fan of the British royal family, has called the invitation a "very great honour", and opened the letter from the king in the glare of the world's cameras. "This is really special, this has never happened before, this is unprecedented," Starmer said in the Oval Office as he handed Trump the hand-signed letter from the monarch. "This is truly historic." Security is likely to be tight for the September trip, after Trump's earlier state visit in 2019 attracted large protests. The Stop Trump Coalition is already planning a large demonstration in London on Sep 17. The US president is widely unpopular in Britain, and a YouGov poll in March found that 78 per cent of those surveyed had a negative view of Trump, compared to just 16 per cent with a positive view. Britain rolled out the red carpet for Trump in 2019 when he met the late Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles' mother. No foreign leader has had a second state visit. The Times reported the king had sought to put off the new visit until later in Trump's second term, but "Starmer has gone against the wishes of the king" in bringing the visit forward. "The prime minister has expedited a full 'bells and whistles' visit in an attempt to capitalise on the president's fascination with the royal family," The Times said. CANADA CONCERNS Starmer will also meet with Trump this month when the Republican leader is expected to visit Scotland, where he has two golf resorts. The White House has not publicly confirmed the trip, but Downing Street said on Monday Trump would be "visiting in a private capacity" and "the prime minister is pleased to take up the president's invite to meet during his stay". The devolved Scottish government said First Minister John Swinney would also meet Trump and it was working "on arrangements with partners including Police Scotland". Trump's threats against Canada have put King Charles, who is the country's head of state, in a delicate position. Trump has threatened to slap a 35 per cent tariff on imports from Canada starting Aug 1 and has regularly mused that Canada should become the 51st US state. Reading the letter aloud in the Oval Office in February, Trump said he had been invited to the historic Windsor Castle, near London, one of the royal family's ancient homes. Trump, whose mother was Scottish, said of King Charles: "He's a beautiful man, a wonderful man – I've gotten to know him very well, actually. First term and now second term." Unlike Macron, who addressed the British parliament during his state visit last week, Trump is not currently scheduled to address the House of Commons, which will be on a break. During the French leader's visit last week, Britain laid on a pomp-filled welcome, including a horse-drawn procession and a lavish banquet in the castle where the leaders hailed a new era in UK-France relations.
