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With potential diplomatic hazards sidestepped and little drama on display, Keir Starmer will likely be pleased that his joint appearance with Donald Trump lent support to his claim to be America’s leading ally in defense, commerce, and now technology.

President Trump, for his part, reportedly obtained the “great pictures” he wanted and maintained subdued conduct.

He stated that he did not disagree with his British counterpart in many areas, aside from Starmer’s proposal to recognize a Palestinian state. Additionally, he nearly exhibited diplomatic language—until he suggested that Starmer use armed personnel to stop migrant vessels traversing the English Channel.

Behind-Closed-Doors Talks May Hold the Real Test of Impact

However the lengthy off-camera discussion involving the two leaders represents the real indicator of whether Starmer managed to leverage this second state visit—featuring all its pomp—to alter any of the US president’s views.

The British PM, who typically identifies common ground with Trump in public, probably utilized that valuable one-on-one time to make the case that Russia’s president cannot be trusted and that Benjamin Netanyahu demonstrated flawed judgment.

Israel-Palestine Conflict Remains a Sticking Point

Regarding the Gaza Strip, judging by the public remarks, Starmer may have fallen short. Trump nodded when an ITV reporter stated that he is “the sole individual in the world able to preventing the destruction of Gaza City, halting the starvation in the region, and ceasing the civilian casualties.”

In response that he would not forget the attacks on October 7, and emphasized that his key condition is for Hamas to release all hostages in a single gesture.

Nevertheless, Starmer and Trump aren’t entirely in disagreement, as the broader Middle East now endorses plans for a post-war Gaza administration excluding Hamas. This stance will be reinforced at an upcoming United Nations meeting next week.

Rebuilding Efforts and Shared Goals

Trump is also privately supportive of the collaborative proposal by Jared Kushner and the former UK PM for rebuilding Gaza, which guarantees Palestinians are not displaced of the territory. Forced displacement, recalling the 1948 Nakba, would probably be unacceptable by Gulf states and run counter to ideas advanced by Egypt, Paris, and the United Kingdom.

The PM’s challenge is convincing Trump to publicly endorse specific plans and making him see that allies may pursue their own stability strategies if he appears to delegate his regional strategy to Netanyahu.

Ukraine Conflict Sees Some Alignment

On Ukraine, there may have been greater agreement. Trump, appearing personally hurt, said he felt “betrayed” by Putin and admitted that the conflict had been more difficult to resolve than he had anticipated.

Starmer refrained from stating that Trump’s previous hopes had been misplaced, but he argued that Putin’s recent targets demonstrated a new “recklessness” that demanded a more robust response.

“We must apply scrutiny to Putin,” Starmer declared. “Only when the president has exerted force against Putin does he shown any willingness to move.”

When pressed on whether he was willing to apply such measures, Trump said, “I am open to do other things,” adding, “But not when the people I’m fighting for are buying oil from Russia.”

Oil Imports and Geopolitical Leverage

Given Trump’s frequent lack of awareness, it is conceivable he only recently discovered that certain European countries—such as his allies}—still import Russian oil. Regardless, it provided a convenient excuse not to impose the tariffs he once promised on China for importing Russian energy.

What Starmer must prevent is for Trump to withdraw regarding the conflict. Thus, he and Europe have little choice to speed up efforts to halt the supply of Russian oil to Europe. EU chief Ursula von der Leyen has previously committed to move up the deadline for ending purchases of Russian oil and gas, shifting it from 2028.

The PM has an opportunity in that Trump agreed that reduced oil prices would hasten Putin’s willingness to settle.

After the recent visit, both Starmer can but hope that Trump is nearer being convinced that if he stops discussing sanctions and actually implements them, he can show Putin that his options are truly exhausted.