When TV cameras are let in to movie world leaders assembly in particular person, the ensuing footage is normally extremely boring for journalists and extremely protected for politicians.
Not with Donald Trump.
Sir Keir Starmer ran the gauntlet on Monday.
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Put by way of a complete of just about 90 minutes of televised questioning alongside the American chief, it was his diciest encounter with the president but.
However he nonetheless nearly emerged intact.
For a begin, he can declare substantive coverage wins after Trump introduced further strain on Vladimir Putin to barter a ceasefire and dialled up the priority over the devastating scenes coming from Gaza.
There have been awkward moments aplenty although.
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Prime of the record is Mr Trump’s trashing of the prime minister’s Labour colleague, London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan.
However extra vital than that, Monday’s assembly was the clearest illustration of the political gulf that separates the 2 leaders.
“He’s slightly more liberal than me,” Mr Trump mentioned of Sir Keir when he arrived in Scotland.
What an understatement.
Picture:
The 2 leaders held talks in entrance of the media. Pic: Reuters
On inexperienced vitality, immigration, taxation and on-line regulation, the variations have been clear to see.
Sir Keir nearly managed to paper over the cracks by chuckling at occasions, selecting his interventions rigorously and at all times trying to sound eminently affordable.
At occasions, it had the vitality of a person being compelled to smile and bear inappropriate feedback from his in-laws at an vital household dinner.
However hey, it stopped a full Trump implosion – so I suppose that is a win.
My essential takeaway from this Scotland go to although isn’t a lot the political gulf current between the 2 males, however the gulf in energy.
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Sir Keir flew the size of the nation he results in be the visitor on the visiting president’s resort.
He was then compelled to sit down by way of greater than an hour of uncontrolled, freewheeling questioning from a person most of his social gathering and voters despise, throughout which he was provided unsolicited recommendation on easy methods to beat Nigel Farage and criticised (albeit not directly) on key planks of his authorities’s coverage platform.
In return he received heat phrases about him (and his spouse) and comparatively incremental bulletins on two international coverage priorities.
So why does he do it?
As a result of, to borrow a quote from a well-liked American political TV collection: “Air Force One is a big plane and it makes a hell of a noise when it lands on your head.”
