Corporate diplomacy in action: Starmer’s balancing act with Trump

Allie Renison | 23rd October 2025 | Washington
Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosts Donald Trump for State visit
Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosts Donald Trump for State visit

Sir Keir Starmer’s meeting with President Trump showcased corporate diplomacy in action, delivering tone over treaties as questions linger about Britain’s real gains and what remains at stake.

 

If the best version of diplomacy is silence, as the famed British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli once said, Sir Keir Starmer will have adjusted his settings and come away from President Trump’s unprecedented second state visit breathing a sigh of relief – for now. Success measured by the yardstick of crises averted and bilateral ties assured, with a few bells and whistle announcements rather than any major agreements.The stakes going into the visit were high. Trump and his circle -led chiefly by his Vice President JD Vance- had hardly been restrained in offering up what they see as Britain’s free speech crisis on a platter for criticism. Paired with concerns over the state of its digital regulatory landscape, and the anticipated recognition by the UK government of Palestinian statehood, British officialdom was hoping that the President’s undeniable fondness for the UK would play its part in his restraint. In the end, it did – and then some. The biggest risk for Starmer wa...

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