All eyes on Rishi's bid for the American dream

Sunak has high hopes for his sojourn but can he convince the US that he’s more than just a ‘caretaker’ PM? Sarah Baxter reports from Washington

- Sarah Baxter

BRITISH and American marching bands struck up God Save the King and The Star-Spangled Banner. Two military jets roared over the stadium. And guest of honour Rishi Sunak strode onto the centre of the field but declined to throw the ceremonial first pitch, passing the ball to a British army officer instead.

The Washington Nationals were playing the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday night and Sunak’s two-day visit to the US just happened to coincide with the second annual US-UK Friendship day at the stadium. Surely our cricket-loving PM would have wanted to display his sporting prowess? Nancy Pelosi, the 83-year-old former Speaker of the House, had gamely pulled off the feat a day before. But Sunak decided discretion was the better part of valour leaving officials hoping his wimp-out wouldn’t serve as a metaphor for the whole trip.

Still, off the pitch, the visit has been going well. The days when the 80-yearold Joe Biden hailed Britain’s first Asian PM as “Rashee Sanook” are long gone. Eight months into the job, Sunak is regarded favourably by the Biden administration for putting stability back into the “special relationship”. As a sign of favour, he has been staying at Blair House, known as the “world’s most exclusive hotel” — the first British PM since David Cameron to do so.

The US media, too, have been relatively respectful although the New York Times suggested tartly that “for Mr Sunak, who faces economic clouds at home, the optics of the visit are as important as any policy outcomes”.