Donald Trump holds up an invitation from King Charles III for a State visit as UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer looks on in the White House, Washington DC, February 27, 2025 (The Guardian)

Ukraine War, Day 1,101: UK’s Starmer Flatters Trump — Will It Save US Aid for Kyiv?

EA on Times Radio and BBC: Trump and Musk v. Ukraine and Europe

I joined BBC radio outlets and Al Arabiya TV to analyze UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to Donald Trump in Washington, particularly the Ukraine-Europe effort to get a US commitment to security guarantees for Kyiv against Russia’s three-year full-scale invasion.

I also consider the success of Starmer’s general approach to Trump, flattering his ego with an invitation from King Charles III for a State visit. I look at the immediate benefits — US support for the UK’s transfer of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and possible immunity (except for Northern Ireland) from Trump’s tariffs — and the uncertainty about others, including the guarantees for Ukraine.

Listen to BBC Radio Wales from 23:03

I chat with Colette Hume about Starmer and his advisors meeting Trump at “an unprecedented moment” with no alliance between the US Government and European allies for the first time since 1941.

I review how Macron, Starmer, and Zelensky are trying to pull the US back into some support of Ukraine and Europe, considering how they play to Trump’s personality.

And I explain the steep challenges ahead, with no sign of Trump backing Ukraine’s defense against the Russian invasion.

Listen to BBC 5 Live from 1:04.11

I open with Nicky Campbell by explaining how Starmer and advisors “played a blinder” by giving Trump “something big and shiny”, winning Trump’s praise of the Prime Minister as a “touch negotiator”.

I talk about UK getting tariffs off the table and opening up the possibility of economic links with the US before focusing on the key issue of Ukraine.

Along the way, I explain how Trump and advisors like Vice President J.D. Vance have distorted and manipulated “free speech” to justify a US break with Europe, and I consider if Trump has found a personal relationship with Jesus.

Watch Al Arabiya TV

An interview on Thursday with Saudi Arabia’s Al Arabiya anticipating the Starmer-Trump meeting: