Personal chemistry is key – but Trump is like no leader I’ve ever met, ex-ambassador to US tells Burnham
Andy Burnham has been reminded that “personal chemistry” is essential for him to make a success of his first meeting with Donald Trump.
But former US ambassador Lord Kim Darroch warned that the president is “not like any other leader I came across in my career”, is unlikely to stick to the agenda and will want “banter and jokes” with the new prime minister to see if he thinks the pair can get off to a good start.
Lord Darroch, who was Britain’s ambassador to the US when Trump was first elected in 2016, told The Independent: “He might ask about what Burnham's plans on immigration are, and energy with the North Sea. He might ask about defence spending, because he would have been briefed that the government has so far declined to explain how it's going to hit 3 per cent by 2030.“
But he also suggested that the US president “will want the meeting to be a success” because he does not have good relations with other European leaders, but does have a strong affinity with the UK because of his Scottish roots.
On the approach to handling the president, Lord Darroch added: “People talk about the sort of ideological divide, the chasm between Labour and Trump's Republicans. What matters much more to Trump is personal chemistry.
“He's not like any other leader I came across in my career in terms of how he conducts these events. Normally, what happens is officials sort of prepare an agenda, all the obvious points, and they go through the two leaders' agenda, comparing positions on each bit of discussion. Trump doesn't really do that kind of structure. What he wants is a conversation.
“Trump just talks about what's on his mind, what's happened in the last 24 hours; what's going on in the world; what he thinks about anything from a big sporting event to whoever won the Oscars or that kind of thing. He quite likes a bit of banter, so Burnham needs to be quick on his feet and able to manage that kind of conversation.”
Meanwhile Sir Malcolm Rifkind, a veteran of the special relationship between the UK and US as a former foreign secretary, said that Mr Burnham should not be afraid to deal with Trump’s comments on Argentina claiming the Falklands and Ireland uniting.
He advised: “Be cool, humorous; give explicit support where Trump policy coincides with British interests, but be robust where it does not. No excessive compliments.
“Express support for US, Denmark, Greenland deal but remind Trump that the Falklands have been British longer than Alaska has been American; and that Northern Ireland has as much entitlement to remain British as Florida has to remain American.
“Do it with relaxed good humour but firmness.”
But with the pair set to meet in person for the first time since Mr Burnham became PM in July, the bilateral meeting at the United Nations has been somewhat overshadowed by the visit of China’s President Xi Jinping.
One ally of Mr Trump told The Independent: “It’s really unfortunate timing. All the oxygen is being sucked out by the Xi visit and that is where the president’s focus is.”
“It’s rather funny that the G20 is going to be in Manchester next year so Trump will be welcomed there by Burnham after all,” said a Trump ally.
The meeting itself is not expected to be dominated by the decision by Mr Burnham to sanction settlements in Israel.
Diplomatic sources have noted that anti-Israel policies in Spain and Ireland have not prevented those countries having a good relationship with the president.