Say one thing, do another and make a fool of the PM

David Maddox on why Starmer keeps getting Trump wrong

- David Maddox

Just five days ago, Sir Keir Starmer sat down with the travelling pack of UK journalists at the G7 in Canada and assured them and their readers that Donald Trump would not attack Iran.

He said: "There is nothing the president said that suggests he's about to get involved in this conflict; on the contrary, the G7 statement was about de-escalation. I think what he said was he wanted to go beyond a ceasefire effectively and end the conflict. And I think he's right about that. I mean, a ceasefire is always a means to an end.

"That is consistent with what we agreed around the table yesterday. And throughout the dinner yesterday, I was sitting right next to President Trump, so I've no doubt, in my mind, the level of agreement there was in relation to the words that were then issued immediately after that, pretty soon after the dinner."

He made a point of being at the table sitting next to Trump to underline that his reading of what the US president would do was correct. At that point, Trump had left the resort in Alberta early and was back in the White House. Just hours later, he was posting threats to Iran on Truth Social.

Then last night, five days after Starmer addressed journalists, Trump authorised the bombing of Iran, having given them two weeks on Friday to get back to the negotiating table. The question, though, is: why does the prime minister just keep getting it so wrong about what the US president will say and do?