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Donald Trump has offered some surprising praise up to Keir Starmer despite not calling the UK PM during his first five days back in office.
The US president, who was inaugurated on Monday, is yet to follow tradition and speak to the UK prime minister since his second term.
But Trump seemed to defy concerns that he might be holding a grudge against the Labour leader when speaking to the BBC on board Air Force One on Saturday.
“I get along with him well. I like him a lot,” the president said.
“He’s liberal, which is a bit different from me, but I think he’s a very good person and I think he’s done a very good job thus far.
“He’s represented his country in terms of philosophy.
“I may not agree with his philosophy, but I have a very good relationship with him.”
And when asked where he might go for his first international trip since returning to the White House, Trump said: “It could be Saudi Arabia, it could be UK. Traditionally it could be UK.
“Last time I went to Saudi Arabia because they agreed to buy $450 billion of American United States merchandise.”
Trump also promised he would be talking to Starmer “over the next 24 hours”.
He has met the UK leader on multiple occasions, including when the Labour leader flew to Trump Tower in New York before the presidential election.
However, the delicate friendship they struck up at the time was quickly overshadowed by tech billionaire Elon Musk.
Now Trump’s informal adviser, Musk has initiated a war of words against Starmer ever since the PM was elected, calling the Labour leader “evil” and questioning his record as the director of public prosecutions over grooming gangs.
Even so, foreign secretary David Lammy said Starmer would be going to visit Trump in the US “within the next few weeks” last Sunday.
There are fears they could clash, as Trump wants to impose tariffs – which could weigh down an already embattled UK economy – and reduce the amount of military aid the US sends to the UK.
Labour’s plan to hand the Chagos Islands to Mauritius is expected to cause further friction, because there is a UK-US military base on the archipelago, and Starmer’s pick for Washington ambassador – Peter Mandelson – has raised some eyebrows among Trump’s inner circle.
There’s also the Labour cabinet’s own very public criticisms of Trump over the years when they were in opposition which ministers have been trying to overlook.
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