Sir and – both of whom had dinner with Donald Trump last night – have both been highly critical of the billionaire in the past.
for talks in advance of November’s , during which Republican Mr Trump will face off against Democratic challenger and Vice-President
Sir Keir was diplomatic in advance of the meeting, insisting that he was a “great believer in personal relations on the international stage”.
However, things have not always been so cordial. In 2020, after supporters of Mr Trump stormed the Capitol in a bid to stop Congress from ratifying ’s presidential victory, Sir Keir said: “President Trump has to take responsibility. What happened was appalling.
“It wasn’t protest – it was an attack on democracy. And responsibility lays with President Trump. No doubt about that.”
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Sir Keir Starmer met Donald Trump in New York last night (Image: GETTY)
Earlier this year, after Mr Trump suggested he would “not protect” any country which failed to meet its military spending commitment of two per cent of GDP, Sir Keir said: “We must rebuild, renew, and resource, not divide and threaten.
“Bad faith politics risks our security.”
Mr Lammy meanwhile has been particularly scathing in his criticism of Mr Trump over the years.
In the past, he has called him a “woman-hating, neo-Nazi sympathising sociopath,” “a tyrant in a toupee,” and “a dangerous clown”.
David Lammy and Sir Keir Starmer at the United Nations headquarters in New York (Image: Getty)
In fact, the word “sociopath” has been applied to Mr Trump by no fewer than 12 of Sir Keir’s ministers, according to the Financial
In 2019, Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens accused Mr Trump of being a “racist, sexist, sharer of extremist ideology, a serial liar and a cheat””
Two years later in 2021, now-Scotland secretary Ian Murray said: “Fourteen days until the worst president in history exits the stage.
“He leaves with no dignity and a legacy that’s an embarrassment to the world.”
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Emily Thornberry branded Donald Trump a ‘racist’ hours after Sir Keir’s meeting with him (Image: Getty)
Sir Keir struck a very different tone yesterday, telling reporters: “As you know, I’ve said several times that I want to meet both candidates.
“We now have the opportunity to meet Trump, which is good. Of course, I still want to speak with Harris as well.
“But, you know, the usual diary challenges. It’s good that this meeting has now been arranged.”
He stressed: “It’ll be really to establish a relationship between the two of us. I’m a great believer in personal relations on the international stage.
Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in 2021 (Image: Getty)
“I think it really matters that you know who your counterpart is in any given country, and know them personally, get to know them face to face.”
Nevertheless, former Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry, who now chairs the Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, told Radio 4’s Today programme had she been at the dinner, she would have called Mr Trump out for his “racism”.
However, she added: ” may be the president of the United States in a couple of months’ time so of course, it’s important to have meetings with him and to build a relationship with him.”
For his part, Mr Trump appeared to be working hard to keep relations with Britain’s leader cordial, saying of Sir Keir: “I actually think he’s very nice. He ran a great race, he did very well, it’s very early, he’s very popular.”