The British press was generally self-congratulatory about how well British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer got along with President Donald Trump, and all the atmospherics surrounding their Feb. 27 meeting at the White House: the “unprecedented” letter from King Charles to Trump, and Trump’s accepting the invitation to visit the U.K.; the return of Winston Churchill’s bust to the Oval Office; the reaffirmation of the special relationship; Trump waxing eloquent about how “special” Starmer is; and so on. But one sentence in the Financial Times coverage stands out for coming closer to the truth: “But on Starmer’s main goal in the White House talks—securing a U.S. `backstop’ for European peacekeepers in Ukraine after a possible peace deal with Russia—he emerged with little to show for his schmoozing.”
Also revealing was an exchange widely reported in the press.
