Has Trump torpedoed the special relationship?

FOR as long as I can remember, the United States of America has been our friend and ally.

- JONATHAN WALKER

Pals Bill Clinton and Tony Blair in 2002

President Ronald Reagan and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher helped to free the world from the tyranny of communism. Bill Clinton and Tony Blair were mates.

George Bush, too, saw the former Labour PM as his staunchest ally abroad and it was to him that the president turned in his first call after the 9/11 terror attacks.

So when the UK stood “shoulder to shoulder” with the US after 9/11 in 2001, it was clearly the right thing to do — because we never doubted America would do the same for us.

There were disagreements, such as when the US infuriated Mrs Thatcher by invading Commonwealth nation Grenada, but nothing that threatened the trans-Atlantic alliance.

Those days may be over. It’s clear that Donald Trump is, at best, an unreliable ally. But the awful truth may be much worse than that.

The question worrying Foreign Office mandarins is whether Mr Trump’s tenure in the White House represents a temporary blip, with normal service resumed once he’s replaced by someone saner, or whether we're witnessing a long-term shift in the way the US deals with the rest of the world.

Outburst

And this includes its friends. Keir Starmer has done his best to keep the “special relationship” alive.

He ensured the UK pulled out all the stops when Mr Trump enjoyed a second state visit last September, hosted by the King at Windsor Castle.

The Prime Minister made the message explicit in his speech welcoming the president, saying: “This relationship is not just about history. It’s about the future.”

He had the right idea. Partnership with the US is the foundation of the UK’s defence and foreign policy, and it is our biggest trading partner (unless we count the entire EU as a single partner).