After his hardest two weeks yet, this isn't what I expected to write about Starmer and Trump

For a premier curate who has possibly had his hardest 2 weeks successful office, Donald Trump became the improbable elixir of a pugnacious governmental run.

It's not a condemnation I imagined penning successful the run-up to this authorities sojourn - peculiarly erstwhile the UK ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson, was sacked from his station but days ago - but this authorities sojourn volition spell down arsenic a occurrence for a PM successful dire request of a win.

From the pomp and pageantry of the archetypal day, to the hard concern astatine Chequers, each item was cautiously choreographed to entreaty to the president - including a enactment successful Windsor Castle, and a bagpipe chorus welcoming him (in a motion to his Scottish heritage) into Sir Keir Starmer's state retreat.

Starmer went each retired to flex each the brushed powerfulness helium could deploy to garner immoderate hard results.

There were existent wins. The showstopper US-UK tech partnership was hailed by some sides arsenic a caller signifier successful the peculiar relationship, arsenic Trump gathered immoderate of the world's biggest tech billionaires - Nvidia main Jensen Huang and Apple's Tim Cook - to be the signing of the woody astatine Chequers.

Number 10 added up a bid of planned commercialized decisions to tout the imaginable of £150bn of inward investment.

How that shakes down remains to beryllium seen, but it undoubtedly gave the PM a affirmative communicative to merchantability up of the November budget, arsenic the authorities spoke of thousands of tech and atomic jobs being created successful reddish partition seats similar Hartlepool and Blythe successful Northumberland.

A premier curate doing concern connected behalf of hard-working Britons is the connection No 10 wants you to instrumentality distant from each of it. Because for a Labour authorities connected the ropes, being capable to speech astir concern and caller jobs successful reddish partition towns is simply a communicative Sir Keir truly needs to tell.

This is simply a PM who desperately needs to transportation voters helium and Chancellor Rachel Reeves tin present a existent maturation strategy up of the budget. You could spot it connected the look of the PM arsenic helium hailed the caller tech woody and monolithic concern into the UK.

No 10 figures archer maine Starmer's idiosyncratic narration with Trump helped created "bigger than expected deals".

Another semipermanent state of the PM told me: "Today [the premier minister] got to punctual radical what he's successful it for, and what he's bully at."

Beyond the business, Sir Keir besides recovered a mode to disagree agreeably with the president.

On the substance of the UK's imminent determination to recognise the Palestine state, the president was unfastened that this was an country of disagreement, but didn't berate Sir Keir implicit it.

Explainer: What does recognising a Palestinian authorities mean?

Not rocking the boats

There was a spot of a ripple astatine the quality league erstwhile Trump said he'd told Sir Keir helium should "call retired the military" to halt amerciable migration into Britain, but these were 2 leaders who intelligibly had genuine respect and respect for each other, and for the lesser spouse successful the narration - the UK - that truly is simply a boon.

But successful the main, Trump didn't privation to stone the boat.

When I asked him, arsenic the last question of the quality conference, whether helium had sympathy for Lord Mandelson for being sacked implicit his narration with Jeffrey Epstein, the president, who besides has an historical connection, wholly swerved the question, saying - contempt having Lord Mandelson successful the Oval Office respective times - helium "didn't cognize him".

'Extraneous shocks'

For a firebrand president, it was an overt effort to debar a headline. For the Starmer team, this authorities sojourn was a spot - situation I accidental it, aft each the resets - of an effort to get the authorities backmost connected way aft a torrid commencement to the caller term.

There is simply a presumption successful Downing Street that the PM was deed by 2 "extraneous shocks" - Angela Rayner's taxation affairs and Mandelson's emails successful which helium backed Epstein aft his conviction - which were retired of No 10's control.

Listen: The autumn and emergence and autumn (again) of Peter Mandelson

This authorities sojourn was a infinitesimal to get the authorities backmost connected way with momentum going into the Labour Party league aboriginal this month.

It volition nary uncertainty beryllium a immense assurance boost to a battered premier curate who volition possibly find a renewed consciousness of intent from being instrumental successful landing existent wins for the British radical beyond the platitudes of the "special relationship".

In a way, it's funny for maine that the authorities sojourn of Trump, which I retrieve arsenic a infinitesimal of jeopardy (see Theresa May successful 2019), has been a infinitesimal of respite and validation for the premier minister.

It is possibly a reflection that Sir Keir has recovered it easier to navigate the planetary signifier since winning powerfulness than the home one.

He faces large challenges into the autumn, not slightest turning up astatine the enactment league to code a Labour rank retired of sorts with their leader.

Then comes the budget, with each the symptom of the economical outlook and prospects of taxation rises.

There is the unit implicit tiny boats and the sluggish show successful the polls, too.

But determination is besides the much-needed assistance of a palmy authorities visit, touting billions of concern and thousands of caller jobs which the premier curate volition drawback arsenic helium looks for momentum - arsenic helium eyes the agelong travel ahead.