Starmer and Trump wrestle with the key issues that divide them 

It was the highest-risk moment of a meticulously stage managed state visit, but Donald Trump and Sir Keir Starmer presented an almost united front during a lengthy press conference yesterday.

Standing side-by-side in the great hall of the Prime Minister’s country retreat of Chequers, the two leaders managed to avoid being tripped up by any awkward subjects – of which there were many.

They sought to bat away the only question on Jeffrey Epstein, the notorious paedophile who has dogged both their tenures so far. 

But, despite the general bonhomie, their differences on Palestine, renewable energy and migration did come to the fore.

PALESTINE

Britain's plan to recognise a Palestinian state was one of a few ‘disagreements’, Mr Trump revealed. 

The PM plans to recognise Palestinian statehood ahead of a UN general assembly in New York next week. 

But Mr Trump made clear he was not on the same page, telling the press conference: ‘I have a disagreement with the Prime Minister on that score, one of our few disagreements, actually.’ 

After being put on the spot by one US reporter, Sir Keir was forced to insist that he was not delaying his announcement on recognition until after Mr Trump leaves the UK, saying: ‘I made my position clear at the end of July, so the timing, it’s got nothing to do with this state visit.’

ENERGY

Exposing another area of disagreement, Mr Trump described wind power as a ‘very expensive joke’ while hailing the North Sea as a ‘phenomenal’ resource. 

He urged Sir Keir – who is banning new oil and gas licences in the oil field – to exploit the ‘great asset’, and said his ‘drill, baby, drill’ policy had helped bring down US energy prices. 

But Sir Keir spoke of the importance of mixing the use of oil and gas with renewable energy, and claimed he was ‘absolutely determined to ensure that the price and cost of energy comes down’ for households and businesses.

UKRAINE

Mr Trump admitted he had been ‘really let down’ by Vladimir Putin, having thought the Ukraine war would have been ‘the easiest’ to settle once he resumed office. 

The US President – who previously claimed he could end the conflict in a day – said he still felt he had an ‘obligation’ to bring it to a close. He also repeated his plea for Nato allies to impose tariffs on countries purchasing Russian oil, saying that if the oil price drops, Putin will pull out of the war. 

Sir Keir did not disagree, saying: ‘There are a number of European countries which are too reliant on energy from Russia, the UK actually, obviously, has almost got nothing at all, but we do need to bear down and work with our European counterparts here.’

FREE SPEECH

The killing of US conservative activist Charlie Kirk last week was ‘shocking’ to everyone who believes in free speech, Sir Keir said, adding the fatal shooting ‘sent shockwaves through the world’. 

The Prime Minister revealed he contacted Mr Trump immediately afterwards to offer his sympathies. ‘I reached out straight away to the President, because I understood how impactful it would be on him and his family.’

Despite US tech firms claiming they face censorship under Britain’s Online Safety Act, Sir Keir insisted: ‘Free speech is one of the founding values of the United Kingdom, and we protect it jealously and fiercely and always will.’ 

But he added: ‘I draw a limit between free speech and the speech of those that want to peddle paedophilia and suicide [on] social media to children.’

FAITH

Sir Keir suggested he is a Christian despite previously calling himself an atheist. Asked if Britain is still a Christian country, the Prime Minister replied: ‘I was christened, so that is my church, has been all my life. 

And that is wired into our informal constitution.’ He went on: ‘Of course, we celebrate many other faiths as well and I’m really proud that we’re able to do so as a country.’ 

However, in a 2021 interview he admitted: ‘I am not of faith, I don’t believe in God – but I can see the power of faith and the way it brings people together.’ 

His wife Lady Starmer is Jewish and he has previously spoken about how they keep Jewish traditions in their family home but their two children are not being brought up in the faith.

STATE VISIT

The President lavished praise on the Royal Family and the Prime Minister as he hailed the ‘exquisite honour’ of a second state visit. 

Describing the ties between the US and Britain as ‘priceless’, Mr Trump said the countries were now ‘closer than ever before’. He referred to King Charles and Queen Camilla as ‘two fantastic people’, and called the British Isles ‘beautiful’ and ‘magnificent’. 

The UK and US were ‘forever friends and will always be friends’, he added, going on to say: ‘This enduring connection is why I was thrilled that the UK was the very first country with which we made an historic trade deal.’

Referring to Sir Keir, he added: ‘He’s a tough negotiator.’

TRADE

The transatlantic trade deal agreed earlier this year was better for the US than the UK, Mr Trump claimed. 

In his opening remarks at the Chequers press conference, he praised Sir Keir, saying: ‘He is a great negotiator who will extend our unparalleled security alliance into the realm of economic security for the first time, and I look forward to finalising it very soon. 

He added that he was ‘thrilled’ that the UK was the first country his administration did a trade deal with, after imposing hefty tariffs on most of the world. The Prime Minister said the new tech agreement signed during Mr Trump’s state visit ‘has the power to change lives’. 

As Mr Trump put his name on the deal, he joked with his treasury secretary Scott Bessent and commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, asking: ‘Should I sign this Howard? Scott? If the deal’s no good I’m blaming you.’

DEFENCE

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The defence relationship between the UK and America is the ‘deepest’ in the world, Sir Keir claimed. 

‘Our warriors train together, and they fight together,’ he said. The Prime Minister told how everything from fast jets to Orka-class submarines were built by the two countries’ industries, and pledged to remove barriers to close working on new technologies. 

Mr Trump praised Sir Keir for having committed to increasing the UK’s defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP, up from just 2.3 per cent last year.

‘I want to congratulate the United Kingdom on making the vital commitment to spend 5 per cent of GDP on defence at the Nato summit this year. We’ve worked together very closely in so many ways,’ the President said.

AFGHANISTAN

The US wants to regain possession of a major military base in Afghanistan, Mr Trump revealed. He suggested he was negotiating over the return of Bagram Airfield with the Taliban, which seized the base as Joe Biden pulled US forces out of the country in 2021.

‘One of the biggest air bases in the world. We gave it to them for nothing. We’re trying to get it back, by the way,’ Mr Trump told reporters. 

‘We’re trying to get it back because they need things from us. We want that base back. But one of the reasons we want the base is, as you know, it’s an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons.’