BACKHANDED COMPLIMENT

Trump Welcomes U.K.’s Leader by Immediately Insulting Him

The president heaped praise on Keir Starmer’s wife but was notably silent about the prime minister himself.

President Donald Trump used a compliment toward U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s wife as an opportunity to take a swipe at his British counterpart.

Minutes after Keir and Victoria Starmer arrived at Trump’s Turnberry golf resort in Scotland, where the two men are scheduled to discuss a range of issues including trade and the war in Gaza, a reporter asked Trump a question about tariffs.

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Standing with the Starmers outside the club, he vowed to “take a look at it.”

“We want to make the prime minister happy,” he explained. “We want to make… By the way, your first lady… I would say first lady. She is a respected person all over the United States. I don’t know what he is doing, but she is very respected. As respected as him. I don’t want to say ‘more’—I will get myself in trouble.”

Keir Starmer laughed awkwardly and agreed with Trump, while Victoria Starmer smiled and looked around without saying anything.

“She’s a great woman and very highly respected,” Trump continued, notably not saying the same of Keir Starmer.

Later during their meeting, Trump also managed to insult Starmer’s friend, London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

Asked if he would be visiting London during his state visit, Trump said he would, but added, “I’m not a fan of your mayor. I think he’s done a terrible job, the mayor of London. A nasty person.”

“He’s a friend of mine, actually,” Starmer cut in, drawing laughter.

“I think he’s done a terrible job,” Trump replied.

Earlier in the day, the president had also bragged that his administration had “many ceasefires going on” and suggested he had prevented a nuclear conflict between India and Pakistan.

“If I weren’t around, you would have right now six major wars going on,” he said.

India would be at war with Pakistan, there would be a war between Serbia and Kosovo, and Rwanda would still be fighting with the Republic of the Congo, he said. Earlier in the conversation, he also took credit for ending recent fighting between Thailand and Cambodia.

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“We stopped a lot of wars and it was a great honor to have done it,” he said.

The president himself didn’t mention the word “prize,” but his press secretary Karoline Leavitt posted a screenshot of an article about U.S.-backed talks to end the war.

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“President Trump made this happen. Give him the Nobel Peace Prize!” she wrote.

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