Sarah Smith: Trump’s visit showed warm relationships in the United Kingdom

There is no doubt that Donald Trump was more enthusiastic about the day he spent at the Château de Windsor than his discussions with Sir Keir Starmer at Checkers.

And it is not a little light on the hospitality of the British Prime Minister during this state visit, that Trump and his team were impatient to rent.

Starmer’s Country residence is undoubtedly an impressive meeting place, and there was even an air exhibition from the Red Devils of the British army which stole enormous British and American flags to welcome the American chief in the Buckinghashire campaign.

But as much as Trump seems really as Starmer, with their warm relationship exhibited at a joint press conference on Thursday, the president was completely seduced by the king and the queen on Wednesday.

According to her chief of staff, Susie Wiles, her definitive point of the trip was the evening banquet drawn up for 160 guests in the St George Hall of Windsor Castle that evening.

For Trump, who has a deep and long -standing admiration for the Royals, it is difficult to compete with being grilled by the king. No matter how many jets are asked for you in the sky above the ladies.

State visits like these allow presidents and prime ministers to connect with others at a more personal level and to offer their respective staff a chance to build working relationships. They are also an opportunity to demonstrate the proximity of relationships on a large scene.

In this sense, it was gentle navigation for both sides.

There was no real clumsiness at the joint press conference, which had the potential to exhibit areas of disagreement.

When the two men were asked about one of these questions, the United Kingdom’s plan to recognize the Palestinian state, Trump said it was in disagreement but also had a big starmer smile and a warm slap on the back while the Prime Minister condemned Hamas.

And on another potentially delicate subject, the dismissal of Peter Mandelson as an ambassador of the United Kingdom in the United States about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, Trump was unusually taciturn. He said very little and immediately delayed to Starmer.

The two leaders discussed Gaza and Ukraine when they spent almost an hour to speak alone without any staff in the room. And although they were very friendly during the press conference, he also quickly became clear that neither had changed their positions on the key issues where they do not agree.

There are limits to the influence of all leaders on Trump, whatever the success of a trip like this.

Inside the ladies, I asked Wiles, the president’s personnel manager, what a difference would make the ability of Great Britain to influence American trade, prices and international affairs. His answer was frank – none at all.

Although Trump appreciated this state visit, he will not modify his positions on major global issues due to a memorable night spent at the Château de Windsor.

But after all the pump and the ceremonial, Starmer seems to have at least won the right to be respectfully in disagreement with Trump without paying a diplomatic penalty.

It may be expensive to go on the bad side of the American president, but by carefully navigating in the relationship, the United Kingdom has succeeded in avoiding high prices which have been imposed on other nations. Starmer, on the other hand, was not subjected to a humiliating cover or a derogatory nickname.

Although this was going to never go down the kind of clumsy confrontation that we have sometimes seen in the oval office this year – not only with the Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, but with other leaders so – it should be noted that a more relaxed Trump tackled the questions when the press conference concluded in a much less combative way than it often does in Washington.

Has the British Prime Minister played his “Trump” card by organizing this sumptuous state visit? He was choreographed perfectly and clearly delighted Trump and the First Lady.

And although Starmer has not won the ability to change the president’s mind, he can disagree with him without compromising relationships. For this reason, a fall now feels further than ever.