Trump UK state visit invitation

[Jonathan Scott]

When UK prime minister Keir Starmer met Trump in February, he passed on a letter from King Charles III inviting Trump for a second state visit, to be preceded by a private visit to discuss the details. (Guardian article here).

This initially seemed like a crazy idea to most people here, but from a diplomatic point of view it seems an inspired move. Obviously, it's a positive gesture in itself, which one would hope would help UK / US relations. But it is also a promise of a future possibility that Trump would clearly especially appreciate, providing him with a strong incentive to continue cooperation with the UK to avoid the risk of losing that unique privilege.

Admittedly, it doesn't seem to have prevented the UK being included in the current tariff wars, but I would hope that it might result in the UK being treated somewhat more respectfully by Trump than some other countries.

 

[placebo]

With Trump, loyalty only goes one way. While a state visit might help the UK get favorable treatment in the immediate aftermath, I wouldn't expect it to earn the UK better treatment in the long run.

 

[Jonathan Scott]

For now, the proposed state visit is a provisional future event, so I would hope it would help until either it happens or it gets cancelled, which could be quite some weeks away in a world that Trump knocks in different directions from one minute to the next.