And so, we waited with bated breath yesterday afternoon for Sir Keir Starmer to grasp the hand that holds the future of Europe within its tiny fingers. The PM had big boots to fill. Or should that be gloves.
Could buttoned-up centrist Starmer measure up? Was he tactile enough to grab the affections of the hulking populist?
At 17.33 UK time Sir Keir climbed out of a huge black SUV and came face-to-shoulder with the president (the height difference was telling).
Mark Bowden, an expert in human behaviour and body language at Truthplane, believes we were witnessing a remarkable presidential volte-face and some subtle but nifty psychological mind games.
“We saw it with Macron. But this has become predictable, so when Starmer comes in to shake his hand he moves in close, rather than extend his hand at length, which gives him steadiness. It makes it harder to be pulled off-balance. In this case though, Trump didn’t try any of that, which is interesting. The handshake drops off fast, whereas normally Trump hangs on to show he is dominant.”
“Often, Trump will plant a hand on the top of the shoulder, in a suppressing gesture. With Starmer we see a more welcoming reassurance,” adds Bowden.
“Trump is a lot more relaxed. In that first exchange when he welcomes Starmer, his body language is not adversarial or macho, it is protective, as if to say, ‘I’m taking you under my wing, don’t worry’,” she says.
“This signals that he thinks it will be a good meeting,” says Bowden. Meanwhile Sir Keir appears to nervously tug his cuffs. Bowden advises against reading too much into the gesture.
Trump’s ‘thumbs up’ signals it will be a good meeting, experts said (Photo: Brian Snyder/Reuters)
And as the men retired into the West Wing, Starmer is the one with the upper hand, patting Trump on the shoulder, as if to say ‘okay, we’ve done that bit, now let’s go in and get down to business.
An hour later the press call began cordially. There were no overt power plays and another tame handshake.
“The Prime Minister repeatedly uses the word ‘deal’ because he knows that’s a word that Trump reacts to and that resonates with him. He then lets Trump do most of the talking.”
Starmer’s delivery of the letter from the King was a ‘brilliant move’ (Photo: Carl Court/Getty Images)“This was a fascinating olive branch, if not a Trojan Horse,” says Bowden.
“Starmer then uses a big loud broadcast voice to explain to everyone what’s in the letter. Trump nods his head and raises his eyebrows, looking for acknowledgement from everyone to recognise how big a deal it is. Starmer makes sure he has no time to undermine the impact of the letter by telling him to answer there and then.
“The letter is Starmer’s Trump card,” adds Davies. “It’s interesting that Trump hands it back for Starmer to read. Whether that’s because he doesn’t understand the full significance or whether he wants to amplify the importance, I’m not sure.
The experts agree Sir Keir made some very skilful and subtle plays, the impacts of which will set the tone for US and UK relations in the coming months.
Trump and Starmer are now locked into a rematch in the shape of a state visit.
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