𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Like a horse whisperer who can pacify a boisterous stallion, Sir Keir Starmer used to cast himself as the European statesman who could talk frankly and cut deals with President Trump. Now the Labour leader has felt the wrath of the President for not backing his desire to take over Greenland.

Mr Trump now claims he has “formed the framework of a future deal” over not just Greenland but the “entire Arctic region”. European states that had opposed a US takeover will now not be hit with the tariffs due on February 1.

Did he ever intend to clobber his allies this way? Was it all political theatre to distract from domestic woes and force NATO to take his Arctic concerns seriously?

Who knows? But his relationship with Sir Keir will never be the same.

Mr Trump has kicked the PM where he knows it will hurt, denouncing his wildly controversial decision to hand sovereignty of the Changos Islands to Mauritius while paying a fortune every year to lease back a strategically important UK-US military base.

Sir Keir, whose premiership has looked as if it is dangling by a fraying thread in recent months, gave vent to his frustrations during Prime Minister’s Questions. He said the attack on the Chagos deal – which Mr Trump has described as an “act of great stupidity” – was intended to put “pressure on me and Britain in relation to my values and principles on the future of Greenland”.

His predecessor as Labour leader, Tony Blair, invested much of his political capital in sticking close to President Bush, much to the outrage of the British Left. Labour now faces intense competition from the Greens and Sir Keir, who could be hit with a leadership challenge after the May elections, cannot afford to be seen to be soft on the Trumpster.

Labour MP Steve Witherden gave us a glimpse of what many in the Labour movement really think of the President, describing him as the “thug in the White House”.

In turn, Mr Trump was in no mood for yielding on his demands for that “piece of ice” when he turned up at the gathering of business Titans and world leaders in Davos. On several occasions he appeared to call Greenland “Iceland” in a speech which was an exercise in braggadocio – but if does get a deal, he will be confirmed as a unconventional but undeniable master of realpolitik.

We should remember that his alpha gorilla performance was directed at his fellow Americans at least as much as any Europeans. With a YouGov net approval rating of -20, he is not the only party leader with a polling problem.

Sir Keir and the President still have something in common.