Why mild annoyance at Trump won’t help Keir Starmer

 Trump has treated the UK the way he has treated Europe, NATO and anyone else he thinks is not carrying its water. Starmer, in contrast, has tried to draw a line. He has said Britain will not repeat the “mistakes of Iraq” and will act only on a “lawful basis”. Even that, however, pales in comparison to the bluntness coming out of Europe. France’s Emmanuel Macron has openly mocked Trump’s inconsistency, saying “you have to be serious” and warning that a leader “can’t contradict himself every day.” Against that, Starmer’s irritation feels less like defiance and more like discomfort. Trump has treated the UK the way he has treated Europe, NATO and anyone else he thinks is not carrying its water. Starmer, in contrast, has tried to draw a line. He has said Britain will not repeat the “mistakes of Iraq” and will act only on a “lawful basis”. Even that, however, pales in comparison to the bluntness coming out of Europe. France’s Emmanuel Macron has openly mocked Trump’s inconsistency, saying “you have to be serious” and warning that a leader “can’t contradict himself every day.” Against that, Starmer’s irritation feels less like defiance and more like discomfort.