Operation Ingratiate takes more risks with Starmer's embattled reputation

Ronald Reagan, winner of the Cold War, was content with just the one. Barack Obama, who bagged a Nobel Peace Prize, was likewise happy with a single. So at the beginning of the week in which Donald Trump will be lavished with the pomp and pageantry of an unprecedented second state visit to the UK, it is worth asking why we are going to be put through such a toe-curling spectacle of flummery and fawning.

- Andrew Rawnsley

We can rule out the thought that King Charles was gagging to provide regal entertainment for King Donald. The late Queen found the US president “very rude” during his previous visit in 2019 and her son was less than enthused about the prospect of hosting another one, not least because of Trump's predatory designs on Canada. Charles bowed to Downing Street’s insistence that it had to happen, and quickly.

Sir Keir Starmer cannot think that his embattled premiership is going to gain lustre from bringing this guest to our shores. Trump is not popular with a majority in his own country, while his favourability score with British voters plumbs darker depths than Sir Keir’s ratings. Pollsters report that those who approve of this US president are outnumbered more than four to one by those who dislike him. Despite the infatuations of Nigel Farage, the US president is not even well-liked by a lot of the Reform tribe. You wouldn't want to hitch your wagon to a foreign leader most Brits find repellent.

The guest’s unpopularity will be reflected in the logistics of the three-day visit. He will be flown around by helicopter in a security bubble involving swarms of police drones. There won't be the traditional carriage ride down the flag-bedecked Mall. They are not even risking exposing him to any crowds in genteel Windsor. In contrast with Emmanuel Macron’s state visit in July, there won't be a trip to the grave of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey. Nor will there be an address to MPs and peers, Downing Street cunningly arranging the visit for when the Commons is in recess.

The ideal state visit is an occasion to celebrate and nurture the ties that bind two countries. Other times, they are endured as a necessary price of realpolitik.