There were signs of a ‘blossoming bromance’ between Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump as the pair met at the White House today, a body language expert has said.
The US president hailed ‘special’ Sir Keir during an extraordinary meeting to discuss Ukraine’s future and the role the two countries have in the peacemaking process.
President Trump greeted Sir Keir with a warm smile and his signature thumbs’ up outside the entrance to the West Wing.
He later told the British prime minister that he ‘loved’ his accent and his ‘impressive wife’.
Body language expert Judi James told that while slightly awkward, there were signs of a developing ‘bromance’ between Sir Keir and Trump.
She explained their final handshake showed how their ‘closeness had evolved’ over the course of the afternoon.
‘There were moments of an awkward but possibly blossoming bromance between two men with very different body language styles,’ Ms James said.
‘Trump’s backward hand clasp during the first press session looked like an attempt to register unity based on history.
There were signs of ‘bromance’ blossoming between Sir Keir Starmer and Donald Trump as the pair met at the White House today, a body language expert has said
President Donald Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer shake hands at the press conference
Donald Trump meets British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House in Washington
‘But it wasn’t until the second press conference that we saw something forged on a deeper sense of respect.
‘Trump’s references to Starmer being a tough negotiator suggested Starmer had won some authentic respect from Trump as opposed to his more dismissive approach initially.
‘Their final shake showed how much the closeness evolved from their arrival greeting ritual.’
She also shared an insight on how Sir Keir’s meeting with Trump differed from Macron’s awkward exchanges last week.
The French and US presidents grabbed hands in such a way that the encounter went viral on social media and was later described as a ‘death clasp’.
Ms James said: ‘There was none of the political peacocking of Trump v Macron, just a pat and a thumbs-up from Trump and some auto-contact checking rituals from Starmer.’
At the keenly-anticipated joint press conference, the President Trump gave a loose timeline for his efforts to negotiate with Vladimir Putin.
He also dropped hints that the UK will be spared from the worst of his tariffs, saying Sir Keir had been ‘working hard’ to convince him over lunch.
US President Donald Trump greets British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the entrance of the West Wing of the White House
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is seen meeting Donald Trump during the visit to the White House today
At the keenly-anticipated joint press conference, the President Trump gave a loose timeline for his efforts to negotiate with Vladimir Putin.
Read More
BREAKING NEWS
Donald Trump says Ukraine peace deal will be 'soon or not at all' as he hails 'special' Keir Starmer
Sir Keir, on the other hand, lavished praise on Trump’s efforts to bring peace in Ukraine.
He welcomed a bust of Winston Churchill being returned to the Oval Office, and said they wanted to work together on a ‘new economic deal with advanced technology at its core’.
Pitching himself as a fellow ‘winner’ on stage with Trump, Sir Keir acknowledged that they were from very different political traditions.
But he said they both believed ‘it’s not the taking part that counts, it’s winning… if you don’t win, you don’t deliver’.
In the Oval Office, Sir Keir handed Trump a letter from the King inviting him for an unprecedented second state visit.
The US president has already responded enthusiastically to the invite, saying he would be coming to the UK ‘soon’.
At the press conference, Sir Keir said he and Trump had a ‘very productive discussion’ about a US security guarantee for a Ukrainian peace deal.
Asked if he felt satisfied about the so-called backstop after discussions with Trump, Sir Keir said: ‘I thought we had a very productive discussion.
In the Oval Office, Sir Keir handed Trump a letter from the King inviting him for an unprecedented second state visit
Sir Keir Starmer met Trump today to plead for a US backstop to any Ukraine ceasefire
At the press conference, Sir Keir said he and Trump had a ‘very productive discussion’ about a US security guarantee for a Ukrainian peace deal
‘Obviously, as the President says, the deal has to come first. But, yes, our teams are going to be talking about how we make sure that deals sticks, is lasting, and enforced. So, our teams will be talking about that.’
Sir Keir paid tribute to Trump’s ‘personal commitment to bring peace’ in Ukraine and said the UK is ‘ready to put boots on the ground and planes in the air to support a deal’.
He said: ‘We’re focused now on bringing an enduring end to the barbaric war in Ukraine. Mr President, I welcome your deep and personal commitment to bring peace and to stop the killing.
‘You’ve created a moment of tremendous opportunity to reach a historic peace deal.
‘A deal that I think would be celebrated in Ukraine and around the world. That is the prize. But we have to get it right … it can’t be peace that rewards the aggressor or that gives encouragement to regimes like Iran.
‘We agree history must be on the side of the peacemaker, not the invader.
‘So, the stakes, they couldn’t be higher.
‘We’re determined to work together to deliver a good deal. We’ve discussed a plan today to reach a peace that is tough and fair. That Ukraine will help shape. That’s backed by strength to stop Putin coming back for more.
‘I’m working closely with other European leaders on this and I’m clear that the UK is ready to put boots on the ground and planes in the air to support a deal. Working together with our allies, because that is the only way that peace will last.’