Donald Trump has won the US Presidency; will Starmer swallow his words?
The UK’s prime minister has said some unkind things about Trump in the past – and so has his Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, who went so far as to call the President-Elect a “tyrant in a toupee”.
And nascent Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch – who was herself only elected to the role on Saturday (November 2) – wasted no time pointing this out.
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During Prime Minister’s Questions, she said: “The prime minister and the Foreign Secretary met him (Trump) in September. Did the Foreign Secretary take that opportunity to apologise for making derogatory – and scatological – references including, and I quote, “Trump is not only a woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath; he is also a profound threat to the international order”? And if he did not apologise, will the prime minister do so now, on his behalf?”
Keir Starmer did not say his Foreign Secretary had apologised – and did not do so himself. Instead, he said: “The Foreign Secretary and I did meet President-Elect Trump, just a few weeks ago […] We discussed a number of issues of global significance. It was a very constructive exercise.”
Badenoch capitalised on his reticence: “The prime minister did not distance himself from the remarks made by the Foreign Secretary, and I am very sure that President Trump will soon be calling to thank him for sending all of those north London Labour activists to campaign for his opponent.”
(This was a reference to a controversy a few weeks ago in which Trump complained that the arrival of Labour Party members from the UK to campaign for his rival Kamala Harris was illegal.)
She continued: “Given that most of his cabinet signed a motion to ban President Trump from addressing Parliament, will the prime minister show that he and his government can be more than student politicians by asking [the Speaker] to extend an invitation to President Trump to address Parliament on his next visit?”
Again, Starmer did not accede to her wishes. He simply stated that his government would work with that of the President-Elect on issues of “security, our economy, and global conflict”.
This and other comments prompted Badenoch to remark: “Discuss, discuss, discuss, chat, chat, chat – he has no plans whatsoever […] for building on the Special Relationship.”
Well, he’s going to need to.
As BBC political editor Chris Mason wrote online, “The government has sought to prepare. But the prep may only count for so much… Privately, there’s a recognition in Whitehall that things aren’t likely to be smooth – they’re more likely to be bumpy, noisy.”
It seems the new Leader of the Opposition is determined to make them as bumpy, and as noisy, as she can.
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Trump has won the US Presidency; will Starmer swallow his words?
Donald Trump has won the US Presidency; will Starmer swallow his words?
The UK’s prime minister has said some unkind things about Trump in the past – and so has his Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, who went so far as to call the President-Elect a “tyrant in a toupee”.
And nascent Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch – who was herself only elected to the role on Saturday (November 2) – wasted no time pointing this out.
Buy Cruel Britannia in print here. Buy the Cruel Britannia ebook here. Or just click on the image!
During Prime Minister’s Questions, she said: “The prime minister and the Foreign Secretary met him (Trump) in September. Did the Foreign Secretary take that opportunity to apologise for making derogatory – and scatological – references including, and I quote, “Trump is not only a woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath; he is also a profound threat to the international order”? And if he did not apologise, will the prime minister do so now, on his behalf?”
Keir Starmer did not say his Foreign Secretary had apologised – and did not do so himself. Instead, he said: “The Foreign Secretary and I did meet President-Elect Trump, just a few weeks ago […] We discussed a number of issues of global significance. It was a very constructive exercise.”
Badenoch capitalised on his reticence: “The prime minister did not distance himself from the remarks made by the Foreign Secretary, and I am very sure that President Trump will soon be calling to thank him for sending all of those north London Labour activists to campaign for his opponent.”
(This was a reference to a controversy a few weeks ago in which Trump complained that the arrival of Labour Party members from the UK to campaign for his rival Kamala Harris was illegal.)
She continued: “Given that most of his cabinet signed a motion to ban President Trump from addressing Parliament, will the prime minister show that he and his government can be more than student politicians by asking [the Speaker] to extend an invitation to President Trump to address Parliament on his next visit?”
Again, Starmer did not accede to her wishes. He simply stated that his government would work with that of the President-Elect on issues of “security, our economy, and global conflict”.
This and other comments prompted Badenoch to remark: “Discuss, discuss, discuss, chat, chat, chat – he has no plans whatsoever […] for building on the Special Relationship.”
Well, he’s going to need to.
As BBC political editor Chris Mason wrote online, “The government has sought to prepare. But the prep may only count for so much… Privately, there’s a recognition in Whitehall that things aren’t likely to be smooth – they’re more likely to be bumpy, noisy.”
It seems the new Leader of the Opposition is determined to make them as bumpy, and as noisy, as she can.
Vox Political needs your help!
If you want to support this site
(but don’t want to give your money to advertisers)
you can make a one-off donation here:
Be among the first to know what’s going on! Here are the ways to manage it:
1) Register with us by clicking on ‘Subscribe’ (bottom right of the home page). You can then receive notifications of every new article that is posted here.
2) Follow VP on Twitter @VoxPolitical
3) Like the Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/VoxPolitical/
Join the Vox Political Facebook page.
4) You could even make Vox Political your homepage at http://voxpoliticalonline.com
5) Join the uPopulus group at https://upopulus.com/groups/vox-political/
6) Join the MeWe page at https://mewe.com/p-front/voxpolitical
7) Feel free to comment!
And do share with your family and friends – so they don’t miss out!
If you have appreciated this article, don’t forget to share it using the buttons at the bottom of this page. Politics is about everybody – so let’s try to get everybody involved!
Buy Vox Political books so we can continue
fighting for the facts.
Cruel Britannia is available
in either print or eBook format here:
The Livingstone Presumption is available
in either print or eBook format here:
Health Warning: Government! is now available
in either print or eBook format here:
The first collection, Strong Words and Hard Times,
is still available in either print or eBook format here:
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