Keir Starmer swerves Donald Trump disaster - but key differences on show

Donald Trump hailed the deep bond between Britain and the US - but didn’t hold back from disagreeing with Keir Starmer on Palestine, immigration and energy bills.

Downing Street officials breathed a sigh of relief as the unpredictable US President refrained from entirely derailing a lengthy press conference capping off his state visit at Chequers.

But there were a handful of moments where the wheels felt close to coming off. Trump made it clear that he was at odds with the Prime Minister on a number of issues - including a “disagreement” with the PM on the UK’s plans to recognise a Palestine state this weekend at the United Nations.

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Mr Trump also waded into tensions over the small boats crisis, saying he told the PM to “call out the military” to stop people arriving in Britain via illegal routes. And he branded wind power an "expensive joke”, urging the PM to copy his “drill baby drill” strategy to get energy bills by exploiting North Sea oil and gas.

Trump also sidestepped awkward questions about US ambassador Peter Mandelson, who was sacked by Mr Starmer over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. “I don't know him actually,” Mr Trump claimed, after being asked whether he had “sympathy” for the ousted Ambassador to Washington.

Trump has met Mandelson on several occasions, including being pictured with him in the Oval Office - where he complimented his accent. The President also personally signed a copy of the US-UK trade deal for Mr Mandelson, writing “Peter, Great Job”.

Meanwhile, Mr Trump admitted that Vladimir Putin has "really let me down" - and delivered a chilling warning over the threat of World War Three. He said he did not regret inviting Putin to talks in Alaska last month.

But he stuck by his unorthodox plan of trying to force Putin to drop out of the war by convincing NATO countries to apply sanctions to countries that buy Russian oil. "Very simply, if the price of oil comes down, Putin is going to drop out," he said. "He's going to have no choice, he's going to drop out of that war."

Mr Starmer added: "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.

"There are one or two countries, I think, that do need to look again at the question of energy. There's no one silver bullet here, we do have to have a wider suite of sanctions, which we've put in place a number of times, working across Europe and with the United States."

The US President claimed he thought the Ukraine war would be the "easiest" to resolve out of ongoing conflicts due to his relationship with the Kremlin tyrant. Mr Trump later said the Russia-Ukraine war doesn't really affect the US "unless you end up in a world war on this, you could."

He later added: "That's a war that could have been a third world war, and I don't think we're going to be there now, but that was heading to a third world war. And what a shame it is. What a shame it is."

Trump demanded Hamas release all the remaining hostages "right now" - and not in a piecemeal fashion. He accused the militant group of "putting the hostages up as bait" which he described as "pretty brutal".

And the President acknowledged there was one point of difference between the two leaders - on the issue of Palestinian statehood. The UK is expected to officially recognise the state of Palestine at the United Nations this weekend.

"I have a disagreement with the Prime Minister on that score, one of our few disagreements actually," Trump said. Later, Fox News reporter Peter Doocy, challenged Starmer over whether statehood would be a boon for Hamas.

Mr Starmer was so forthright in his response, he earned a little slap on the back from Trump, in a deeply unusual moment. “Hamas is a terrorist organisation who can have no part in the future governance of Palestine,” Mr Starmer said.

The press conference came after the pair held talks at Chequers, the PM’s grace and favour estate, capping off his two-day state visit to the UK. The pair faced the media in the estate’s Great Hall, with countless oil paintings of British historical figures looking down on them.

Earlier, the President and First Lady Melania Trump were treated to a tour of the Churchill archive, as well as a parachute display by the Red Devils stunt team, who jumped from an aeroplane carrying a union flag and a stars and stripes.

No 10 sources said the press conference went “extremely well”, and they were “very pleased.” “Keir chaired it like a pro,” one said, adding that he came across as being “in control of everything.”

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