Dear John,
If there’s one person Britain really doesn’t like, it’s Donald Trump. The latest opinion polls are among the harshest we’ve ever seen for a US President, with only 16% of Britons approving and a whopping 70% giving him a resounding thumbs down.
It’s not terribly hard to see why. Britain is still watching in awe as our historic ally dismantles its institutions, crushes dissenters, and flirts with outright autocracy. Even putting aside the gruesome state of Washington politics, Trump’s crude brand seems to be unsavoury to the Great British public. And that’s putting it generously.
Which explains why Keir Starmer’s chat with Trump last weekend in Turnberry was so hard to watch. In a rare moment of lucidity, The Times captured it well: Keir Starmer seemed like a foreign dignitary in his own country.
Trump berated London Mayor Sadiq Khan as a “nasty person.” He sung the praises of Nigel Farage. He repeatedly cut the the Prime Minister off, and lectured him endlessly with inane rants about immigration and energy policy. Starmer’s response was tepid: a few careful smiles, some polite nods, and no challenge to Trump’s tirades.
Starmer often emphasises the security, intelligence, and diplomatic ties that bind Britain and America. No one can deny that pragmatism matters. But must pragmatism mean silence in the face of Trump’s countless injustices?
Other world leaders, like Canada’s Mark Carney, have demonstrated that there is another way. Carney refuses to flatter Trump. He doesn’t bow. And he says plainly what Canadians – and Britons – really think about America’s President.
In September, we have a chance to send Trump that same message – even if Starmer won’t.
