Trump meets with Starmer on UK visit after royal welcome
Aylesbury: US President Donald Trump on Thursday signed what he called a historic agreement on science and technology with Britain as United Kingdom officials who have gone all out to impress him with royal pageantry during his state visit now try to deliver key trade and business deals that can further their country’s interests.
Trump and Prime Minister Keir Starmer held a roundtable with business leaders as they signed the deal. They also had private meetings where the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and tariff rates the US may set on steel imported from Britain were expected to be discussed. At a subsequent joint news conference, Starmer said, “While we shape this bond for a new era, the fundamentals have not changed.”
Trump said he was “tremendously thankful” for the hospitality during his visit and that King Charles III and Queen Camilla are “two fantastic people”.
At the earlier signing ceremony for an agreement meant to promote tech investment in both nations, Starmer referred to the American president as “my friend, our friend” and spoke of “leaders who respect each other and leaders who genuinely like each other.” The event took place at Chequers, a 16th-century manor house northwest of London that serves as a rural retreat for British leaders.
The British charm offensive continued after the king and queen had feted Trump and first lady Melania Trump at Windsor Castle, on Wednesday. The royals used the first of the Trump’s two-day state visit to offer all the pomp the monarchy can muster: gold-trimmed carriages, scarlet-clad soldiers, artillery salutes, a glittering banquet in a grand ceremonial hall and the biggest military honour guard ever assembled for such a state visit.
Trump has seemed grateful for all the attention — so much so that he has largely stuck to script and offered little of his typical off-the-cuff criticism of hosts.
Still, he had his moments. Trump joked with his treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, and commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, as he signed the tech deal, “Should I sign this Howard? Scott? If the deal’s no good I’m blaming you.”
After bidding goodbye to the king and queen at Windsor — Trump called the monarch “a great gentleman, and a great king” — the Trumps flew by helicopter some 32 km to Chequers.
