SEATTLE — Firstly, one has to forgive Keir Starmer the excessive flattery.
One also needs to overlook the hyperbole.
The trade deal announced by Donald Trump and the British Prime Minister may not have been great and may not have been historic, but it was at least a deal.
And as Starmer knew, even reaching the modest reduction in tariffs he secured on Thursday would not have possible without repeatedly rubbing the ego of the narcissistic occupant of the Oval Office, and dangling inducements such as a state visit to Britain later this year.
When Starmer handed over the official invitation for the second visit at a meeting in February, the prime minister was sure to again reach for his dictionary of superlatives. It was both “truly historic” and “unprecedented” he said, as Trump beamed.
This then, is the cost of doing business with the United States, as Trump seeks to upend both the global system of trade, and cut ties with allies that have lasted for more than half a century.
By that measure, Starmer ought to commended what he has done, the first deal the US has signed since Trump announced sweeping tariffs on virtually every nation on what he termed America’s “Liberation Day”.
Canada’s Prime Minister Mark Carney met with Trump earlier this week. Their words were polite but not warm, and the Canadian premier quite pointedly told Trump his country would never be the US’s 51st state. (Not surprisingly, there has not yet been a deal between Washington and Ottawa.)
Trump, 79, has never been a modest man. He has long demanded fawning obsequiousness from those seeking his approval, especially if he thinks those people have wronged him.
But it has only become worse. At a series of cabinet meetings after returning to the White House, top officials including Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, have competed with each other to offer the most over the top praise.
Many have said it feels like a scene from ancient Rome, or North Korea. At least Starmer was in the UK when he praised Trump and heard only on speaker phone. If he was blushing, then none of us saw it.
It was no surprise either that Starmer brought up Winston Churchill and Victory in Europe Day, pointing out the historic nature of the date.
After Trump defeated Kamala Harris last November and began a second term as president, he ensured a bust of Churchill, made by Sir Jacob Epstein and given as a gift to George W Bush, was returned to a place of honour in the Oval Office.
It had enjoyed an on-again, off-again relationship with that room, with both Barack Obama and Joe Biden, making space for other statues, and Churchill being placed on a table outside the White House’s Treaty Room.
Theresa May and Trump pictured by the bust of Winston Churchill in the Oval Office in 2017 (Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)“On that day, the UK and the US stood together as the closest of allies,” Starmer said on Thursday.
An awful lot of tosh gets said and written about the “special relationship” between the UK and the US.
US presidents tend to play along, as Trump did on Thursday, saying Britain was one its “greatest” allies.
For many decades, Britain has been carried on the US’s coat tails, punching above its weight in international affairs, and at places such as the UN, where the UK remains one of the five permanent members.
But this is a dangerous game to play. As Tony Blair found to his cost, pinning one’s fortunes to the actions of another country can have disastrous consequences.
If Blair had not been so determined to chase after this relationship, would he had committed Britain to Bush’s illegal invasion of Iraq, even as he was being warned intelligence about Saddam Hussein’s alleged nuclear arsenal was not clear?
Starmer should rightly take the win, won by his hard work. But he should not become blinded.
As Trump has shown, he is a capricious individual who can change his tune and his mood on a whim. Starmer might be in Trump’s good graces for now and the trade deal may remain in place while that is the case.
On Thursday, they were full of compliments for each other and Starmer, “Mr Prime Minster” in Trump’s phrase, even felt bold enough to slip in a “Donald” after first addressing his counterpart as Mr President.”
However for Starmer, and other European leaders, a much tougher test of how Trump truly views them will be if he can convince him to remain military engaged in the defence of Ukraine.
Trump vowed to secure a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia with 24 hours of taking office. That point is long past.
Britain and France and Germany have vowed to continue to help Ukraine, and its president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and even provide troops to monitor a ceasefire. But their efforts would be greatly hampered without US intelligence, logistics and financial backing.
Zelensky – who famously declined to dance for Trump when they met in the Oval Office earlier this year – will have been monitoring Starmer’s negotiations. He will be hoping also to secure a security guarantee that is truly historic and not just words.
Starmer should enjoy the warm glow of a good day while he can. It may not last.
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