With May, the relationship struggled to get off the ground because she and Trump took different stances on Brexit. Starmer, who is pursuing a “reset” with the European Union, could face a similar gulf. “Don’t underestimate or seek to downplay his antipathy toward the EU,” a fifth ex-official said. “He is very focused on the trade imbalance, and thinks Brussels — Germany in particular — has been screwing America for years. Be ready for the moment he asks the U.K. to choose between either the U.S. or EU.”
Even with the best relationship, there will always be times when Trump’s style blows Britain’s plans off course. A sixth ex-official recalled a time the then-president said a terror suspect had been “in the sights of Scotland Yard,” earning a rebuke from May. It was “catastrophically wrong,” the former official added.
Half an hour with Trump
Britain’s new government will be aware of the challenges. Some U.K. officials have been picking the brains of people who were around in Trump’s first term, and Starmer already has experience under his belt — his most recent call with Trump lasted a solid half hour, two people with knowledge of it said.
The opposition Conservative Party is also studying its notes, with leader Kemi Badenoch having exchanged WhatsApps in recent months with Vice President JD Vance.
Starmer’s first call now that Trump is in office will be critical. The president will likely “try [to] push some boundaries and tests and just see, try to work out the man that he’s dealing with,” said the fourth former official.
Of course there are ways to get in the president’s good books, and his allies are not always like-minded. Labour has been studying how the late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe managed to get close enough to Trump to secure a trade deal, while even May earned moments of praise — helped partly by wheeling out Britain’s royal splendor and rich history.