How much will Donald Trump have enjoyed it?
A British Foreign Secretary – the same one who had described him, variously, as “stupid,” “wrong” and “misogynistic” – knocking on his door to ask a favour.
Toe-curling stuff, but a necessity nonetheless.
Lord Cameron‘s US detour to Mar-a-Lago acknowledges where power lies in the political arm wrestle over Ukraine aid. Trump is against the $60bn package, as it stands, and his influence shapes opposition on the Republican right.
Lord Cameron told Donald Trump that Ukraine’s war was America’s war, too, and backing Ukraine and NATO is the right thing to do.
He stressed the amount that Britain and other allies have committed to defence spending – an issue for Trump, who does not think NATO members stump up enough.
It was a case put to a man who has heard it before, and yet it had to be put again.
Lord Cameron, and allies awaiting a debrief, will hope his involvement elevated the argument above the attrition of US politics and offered clarity on a crisis.
The pair also talked Middle East and that will be on the agenda at meetings with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and members of Congress.
A notable absentee from the list is Mike Johnson, the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
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From January: Trump says ‘I’ll solve Ukraine and Israel situation’
We’re told by the British side that he could not find time in his diary.
A US House Speaker who cannot spare a few minutes for a British Foreign Secretary? It sounds far short of the “special…
