Sir Keir Starmer wants to meet with Kamala Harris and Donald Trump before the U.S. presidential election in November.
This comes as reports indicate that aides from No. 10 are trying to arrange meetings with both candidates while the Prime Minister is at a UN summit in New York.
When asked about potential meetings during his trip, Starmer said it would be “very good to meet both of them at some stage.”
He added, “We’ll just have to see what’s possible,” emphasizing that his main purpose is to attend the UN General Assembly, which will likely focus on issues like the Middle East and Ukraine.
Starmer has not met either candidate face-to-face yet, although he did have a phone conversation with Trump following an assassination attempt against him in July.
However, his desire to meet Trump comes at a time when one of his Labour ministers, Angela Eagle, publicly criticized Trump for promoting racist attitudes in Britain.
Eagle’s comments were quickly dismissed by Trump’s campaign, with a spokesman questioning who she is and stating that her opinions don’t matter.
When asked if he agrees with Eagle, Starmer avoided the question, attributing this summer’s riots—linked to far-right sentiments—to “thugs.”
While Harris’s Democratic Party aligns more closely with Starmer’s Labour, the party is also preparing for the possibility of another Trump presidency.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy has previously met with Trump campaign advisers, though he has made harsh comments about Trump in the past, calling him “a woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathizing sociopath.”
Starmer’s intentions show the importance of maintaining diplomatic relationships, especially with two significant figures in U.S. politics, as noted by BBC.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvglnwvepj3o