President Donald Trump wrapped up his state visit to Britain on Thursday with a joint news conference with Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain, in which both men warmly praised the other while acknowledging a disagreement over Palestinian statehood.
The duo have formed an unlikely friendship, given their starkly different political backgrounds. Starmer had hoped to cajole Trump into a more aggressive approach towards President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on the war in Ukraine. The Prime Minister also insisted they were united on trying to find a resolution to Israel’s war in Gaza.
"We are working together to end the humanitarian catastrophe in the Middle East,” Starmer said. When Trump was asked about recognition of Palestinian statehood by Britain and other allies, the President said: "I have a disagreement with the Prime Minister on that score."
One specific outcome from the trip came in the form of a technology partnership agreement signed by Trump and Starmer on Thursday, which they said would help the US and Britain lead the world on artificial intelligence and other high-tech innovations.
Tariff damper
As this state visit wraps up, it's become clear that Britain hasn’t been able to get any movement on tariffs from Trump, despite months of negotiations. Instead, the economic takeaway is the billions of dollars in corporate investments between the two countries, though it remains to be seen how and when that money will be spent.
New York Times News Service