Donald
Trump’s UK state visit arrives at awkward moment after Mandelson exit
Sacking
of Peter Mandelson over Epstein ties threatens to overshadow fanfare of US
president’s two-day trip
Eleni
Courea Political correspondent
Mon 15
Sep 2025 07.00 BST
For
Donald Trump, the priority was to avoid any distractions. But as he arrives for
his second state visit to the UK – an unprecedented honour for a US president –
the crisis engulfing Keir Starmer’s government threatens to overshadow the
proceedings.
The
circumstances of that crisis are especially awkward. Peter Mandelson was
unceremoniously sacked as the UK’s ambassador to Washington on Thursday after
emails were published in which he had urged his friend Jeffrey Epstein to fight
for early release from prison in 2008.
For
Trump, whose own friendship with Epstein has exposed him to damaging scrutiny,
including from his own support base, there is no subject he wants to revisit
less.
“Both
sides will want to move on from Mandelson’s departure from Washington,” said
Michael Martins, a former US official who worked at the embassy during Trump’s
last state visit. “For President Trump, the most important thing will be the
optics. He wants to look very presidential; he will make a big deal of meeting
with the king and the monarchy more generally. First and foremost, he wants
that element of imagery.”
There
will be no shortage of the pomp and circumstance that Trump loves over his
two-day visit. He and his wife, Melania, will be greeted with a ceremonial
welcome and a guard of honour at Windsor Castle, where they will be hosted by
King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William and Catherine, the Princess of
Wales.
Trump
will address a state banquet with tech bosses and senior cabinet ministers on
Wednesday evening before travelling to Chequers on Thursday for a business
reception, working lunch and press conference with the prime minister.
There
will be military displays including a Red Arrows flypast, and fanfare over
investment deals, including a US-UK technology partnership and civil nuclear
agreement.
Sophia
Gaston, an analyst at the Centre for Statecraft and National Security at King’s
College London, said: “Britain is one of the few countries the Trump
administration takes seriously as a tech collaboration partner, and the
decision to align more with American instincts on innovation than EU regulatory
frameworks has been recognised in Washington.
“The
primary objective of the state visit is to shore up the emotional connection
the president holds with Britain, and the secondary objective is to demonstrate
a modern geopolitical underpinning for the special relationship.”
Masked by
the frenzied preparations is a massive hole in the government’s foreign policy
armoury – at a time when foreign affairs is one of the few areas in which
Starmer is widely seen to have performed well. Lord Mandelson’s exit leaves the
government hosting a presidential state visit without a US ambassador, with the
deputy, James Roscoe, stepping up in the interim.
British
officials are fearful that Trump could take the opportunity to publicly opine
on candidates for Mandelson’s successor. Several said the Trump administration
remained fans of the former ambassador Karen Pierce, who has since taken up a
role as UK envoy to the west Balkans. “There was definitely talk of keeping
Karen for longer because she was so loved by that lot,” said one UK government
source. Another said: “Trump’s people have already told the embassy and No 10
that they want Karen Pierce back.”
Pierce’s
supporters believe she is out of favour with Downing Street because of her
perceived closeness to Sue Gray, the former No 10 chief of staff who lost a
power struggle with Starmer’s closest adviser, Morgan McSweeney. Frontrunners
for the job include the former cabinet secretary Mark Sedwill and the outgoing
head of MI6, Richard Moore. The national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, is
also said to be in the frame.
UK
ministers face another potential pitfall. Trump departs for London as his
administration reels from the killing of his influential ally, the rightwing
activist Charlie Kirk. Kirk’s shooting has fuelled warnings on the right about
intolerance and the erosion of free speech. Were Trump in a belligerent move,
he could – like his vice-president, JD Vance – take the opportunity to attack
the UK over the issue.
British
officials and analysts are optimistic this won’t happen. “He obviously likes
the royal family. He likes the UK,” said Ed Owen, a former special adviser
during the New Labour years who is now a visiting fellow at the centre-left US
thinktank Third Way. “I can’t imagine that he’s therefore going to come and
start preaching about free speech. I don’t think it’s his style.”
The fact
that Trump is not spending any significant amount of time in London during his
trip means he will avoid large protests being staged in the capital and
sidestep any controversy arising from a visit to parliament. The Commons will
be in recess, which nullifies any question of the president addressing MPs.
Regardless,
for Labour MPs all this is a sideshow while Starmer’s administration hurtles
from crisis to crisis. “They are lucky that recess is coming up,” said one
ordinarily loyal Labour MP who was incensed by the past fortnight’s
developments. “If MPs were spending the next few weeks in parliament, there
would be real trouble.”
The
downfalls of Mandelson and the former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner have
destabilised the government, and the cabinet reshuffle earned the prime
minister several new enemies. Distraction is just what he needs – and the Trump
circus is the biggest distraction of all.
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário