Even Starmer criticized Trump numerous times in the past.
On one occasion in 2019, after the then-president backed Boris Johnson for the Conservative leadership in Britain, Starmer tweeted: “An endorsement from Donald Trump tells you everything you need to know about what is wrong with Boris Johnson’s politics and why he isn’t fit to be Prime Minister.”
But all that appeared to be water under the bridge in New York. “I actually think he is very nice,” Trump said about Starmer during a press conference in Trump Tower ahead of the meeting. “He ran a great race he did very well,” he said about the Labour election win in July. “It’s very early but he is popular.”
However, the candidate was more enthusiastic about his old friend, Reform UK Leader Nigel Farage. “I think Nigel is great, I’ve known him for a long time,” Trump mused.
“He had a great election too, picked up a lot of seats, more seats than he was allowed to have actually. They acknowledged that he won but for some reason you have a strange system over there, you might win them but you don’t get them. Nigel is a fantastic person.”
Less than two hours before meeting Trump, Starmer delivered what could be interpreted as a thinly veiled message to the candidate, who has been critical of the U.N.