Could Trump's visit come back to haunt Britain's establishment?

The weeks and months up volition find whether Keir Starmer has been naive.

We volition find retired conscionable however palmy the effort to deepen a enslaved with this mercurial president has been.

Has the premier curate really achieved thing with this authorities visit, oregon volition it magnitude to nothing?

But determination is plentifulness to sorb from these singular 2 days.

Here are my contiguous reflections.

Everyone happy

First, determination is nary question that some sides are precise blessed with however it went.

I had a speedy chat with Donald Trump's main of staff, Susie Wiles, arsenic the PM-president talks wrapped up astatine Chequers.

Her look and her persona said it all. But she spelt it retired anyhow for me: "The full happening has been conscionable great."

"Every portion of it. Dinner was the champion bit," she told me, earlier adding: "I conscionable privation to bash it each implicit again."

But this wasn't a travel to Disneyland. It was the existent deal; an effort by 1 state to woo different with the champion it's got to offer, due to the fact that it needs to. With Trump, you're in, oregon you're out. It's that simple.

The British broadside believes this authorities sojourn has been fantabulous for them too.

"I deliberation this was a large triumph for the PM, aft a torrid fewer weeks…" 1 diplomatic root told maine tonight.

Another said: "It was great. All precise positive."

Tech bonanza

The "who's who" and "who's where" astatine the authorities banquet had been a hint of the time that followed. The US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessant was adjacent to the Queen.

The business-orientated dinner astatine the castle morphed into a concern circular array a time aboriginal astatine the PM's state residence Chequers. The question for maine past was: What were the outcomes? The deliverables?

So overmuch of this, always, is astir flattery. And truthful the premier curate mimicked the president's benignant astatine the event. He utilized superlatives to framework a monolithic tech woody which helium said would magnitude to £250bn "flowing some ways crossed the Atlantic".

It was, Starmer said, the "biggest concern bundle of its benignant successful British history, by a state mile". It sounded precise Trumpian.

The "Tech Prosperity Deal" truly does bring inward concern to Britain. Thousands of jobs promised; tech, AI, information centres and the atomic vigor required to powerfulness it all.

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It sounded precise breathtaking but needs to beryllium seen to beryllium believed. And we don't cognize what the trade-off is. "Don't beryllium cynical," 1 UK root told me.

The wide ambition seems to beryllium a benignant of continuum of the 'special relationship' betwixt the UK and the US, pushing into the adjacent section of the 21st century.

If it was defence and information ties astatine the commencement of the narration backmost successful the mid 20th century, present it's astir communal frameworks to harness caller challenges similar AI and to lead, together.

No regulation?

Delivering this caller tech woody would beryllium easier if Britain was to realise its Brexit potential. That's the presumption of Trump's Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick who I besides managed to country for a fewer seconds.

I asked Lutnick what America wants successful return.

"Deregulation…!" helium said. "Don't transcript Europe. Copy America."

I asked if helium thought the UK was consenting to ditch its integer services tax.

"Ask them," helium said, and past added: "If Starmer doesn't [scrap it], it isn't for the deficiency of america reminding him!"

The UK's Digital Services Tax brings successful astir £900m a twelvemonth for the UK Treasury. The US tech manufacture considers it an "aberration successful the taxation code" and wants it scrapped.

Would scrapping it turn the system much than the gross it brings in? We'll spot what the Labour authorities decides successful November's budget.

The optimists reason determination is, maybe, an accidental close present for the UK to crook itself into an agile autarkic system if it tin get the equilibrium of regularisation right. The Brexit dividend.

Agreeing to disagree

I thought the idiosyncratic rapport betwixt the PM and the president was fascinating.

Despite being truthful antithetic politically, the 2 men genuinely look to get connected well.

Susie Wiles emphasised this rapport to me. Even she seemed surprised.

Their narration astir seems present to beryllium successful a spot wherever they tin arsenic individuals, and truthful arsenic governments maybe, hold to disagree without Britain feeling acrophobic that Trump's America volition punish it. Not galore different countries tin accidental that.

Of people each this whitethorn crook retired to beryllium profoundly naive, but for present Starmer is happy.

The illustration contiguous was the UK plans to recognise a Palestinian state. Trump is hugely against this, but helium seemed relaxed astir this large geopolitical quality today. That was striking fixed Trump's character.

The banquet speeches

The banquet speeches were much governmental than I had anticipated.

As a prince, the king was overtly political. He is overmuch little truthful these days, but astatine the banquet determination was 1 infinitesimal that struck me.

As King Charles talked astir the defence of Ukraine, helium turned, intentionally I thought, to Trump arsenic helium underlined however the allies volition basal together. It was pointed, arsenic Europe wonders wherever Trump is connected Ukraine.

Was the president irritated? I don't know, but it was an intentional (and not each that subtle) governmental involution by the King to the president. Fascinating.

As for the president's speech, good of people helium couldn't defy a excavation astatine the Democrats. Even successful St George's Hall, successful Windsor Castle, helium is the governmental showman and good alert the cameras are rolling.

Where were the existent people?

If determination was 1 happening wholly absent from the authorities visit, it was existent people.

There was a unusual sterility to the full visit. The nationalist was kept astatine a large distance, beyond the walls of the castle and the information fences of Chequers.

That said, it was striking that opponents of the president, and those who emotion him, were notably tiny successful number. It was a precise antithetic vibe from his past authorities sojourn successful 2019.

In all, the British authorities volition instrumentality this authorities sojourn arsenic a large win. But it's a large gamble too.

If the critics are close with their "authoritarian" warnings, the images from the past 2 days volition travel backmost to haunt the British establishment.