GB News Political Editor Christopher Hope spotted an “awkward moment” for Sir Keir Starmer during a joint press conference with Donald Trump at Chequers.
An American reporter asked whether the UK was waiting until Mr Trump left on Air Force One before recognising Palestine.
Speaking on GB News straight after the conference, Christopher said: “It seemed very, very friendly. I think the two appear to get on very well.
“By my count, they’ve met about once every eight weeks since he became President, so they meet quite a lot.
Christopher Hope spotted an ‘awkward moment’ for Sir Keir Starmer at the conference
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GB NEWS
“They’ve forged this rather unusual relationship between two very different politicians: one from the left, Sir Keir Starmer, and one from the right, the President of the United States. Yet they’ve managed to cross all sorts of barriers.
“A big moment came when an American journalist asked a question about Palestine.
“The journalist said, essentially: ‘Are you waiting until the guy next to you leaves the country on Air Force One before you recognise the state of Palestine?’
“That was awkward, I think, for Keir Starmer. But the slap on the back from the President was very welcome.
“When Keir Starmer said, ‘We’re not going to have Hamas running Gaza, that can’t happen,’ that was met with a strong slap on the back and clearly the recognition of Palestine wouldn’t change that.”
The immigration debate showed the differences between the two leaders.
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The GB News politics editor noted that Donald Trump’s response to stopping small boat crossings “packed far more punch” than Keir Starmer’s.
The US President took an uncompromising stance, telling Mr Starmer: “I think your situation is very similar. People are coming in, and I told the Prime Minister I would stop it.
“It doesn’t matter if you call out the military, it doesn’t matter what means you use, but it destroys countries from within.”
Mr Trump also spoke about America’s current deportation efforts, admitting it’s a “very hard” task to remove millions who entered under the previous administration, calling it a “very bad hand” he was left with.
Donald Trump gave Keir Starmer a pat on the back
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PA
The press conference addressed several contentious topics beyond immigration.
Both leaders faced scrutiny regarding their connections to Jeffrey Epstein, with Mr Starmer having recently dismissed Peter Mandelson from his ambassadorial post due to links with the convicted sex offender.
A GB News question about free speech also arose during the exchange.
The Prime Minister repeatedly emphasised Britain’s commitment to expression rights, stating multiple times that the UK remains “the home of free speech”.
