President Trump on Tuesday signaled efforts to put aside friction between the U.S. and Britain and start a friendlier relationship with new British Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
During their brief meeting on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, the president told his British counterpart that he could be a “great prime minister.”
“He had a great election win. That was a big one, and he’s going to be, I think, a great prime minister. I think he’s got a lot of assets on his side. We talked about everything from the Rolls-Royce to energy to immigration. We’ve covered a lot, and we’re with him,” Mr. Trump said during his bilateral meeting with Mr. Burnham.
Mr. Trump followed up by saying Mr. Burnham was “a natural businessperson.”
“He gets it. He understands what he has to do,” the president said.
Mr. Burnham responded by saying the U.S.-British relationship is “so important.”
Still, after Mr. Burnham became prime minister in July, he said he “won’t bend the knee” to Mr. Trump, accusing his predecessor, Keir Starmer, of bowing to the president.
Meanwhile, Mr. Trump has caused diplomatic headaches for Mr. Burnham by voicing support for Irish unification and publicly questioning the future of the Falkland Islands, comments considered provocative in London, given Britain’s claims of sovereignty in both regions.
The normally cordial relationship between the U.S. and Britain turned frosty under Mr. Starmer. Mr. Trump was frustrated over the prime minister’s refusal to help with the U.S. and Israeli joint strikes on Iran or work to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Both leaders also sparred over Mr. Trump’s tariffs on British products.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.