Maximising Trump’s visit

Britain is unlikely to see another moment as pivotal as Trump’s visit. Rolling out the red carpet for the US president is more than mere ceremony, our nation’s future prosperity and security depends upon it.

Published in The Independent on 17th September 2025.

Donald Trump’s visit to Britain matters. Not for the pomp or pageantry. Not for nostalgia about the “special relationship.” And not for kowtowing to an unpredictable President who craves attention. It matters because America matters. Not a fleeting Oval Office handshake, but two full days with Trump and his team. A captured audience. An opportunity Britain must leverage to the maximum.

On so many levels our world looks grim. Uncertainty. Volatility. Conflict. These are the words of the day. If our collective strategy is simply to manage events as they unfold, reacting to a changing world, isolating ourselves from multiple growing threats, then the agenda will be light.

But that is not the British way. Nor, since 1945, has it been the American way. Britain is unlikely to have another moment like this state visit: to warn a President of the precipice the West now stands on. Without America’s re-engagement, the dark chapter of instability we have entered will only get darker still.

The question is this: do we have the courage to use this time with a captured audience to call for greater statecraft from the leader of the West? Or do we dodge the elephants in the room, multiplying by the day, for fear of upsetting the status quo?

Britain has long earned the right to speak frankly to Washington. Our military reach, intelligence networks, and diplomatic weight give us credibility beyond our size. The “special relationship” has never just been about shared history or sentiment - it has been about candour in moments of crisis.

In that spirit, the visit’s agenda should not be limited to the good, but also the bad and the ugly.

On the good side, much has already been trailed. Announcements on new nuclear build and AI collaboration address two of the biggest elephants in the room: energy security and the race for quantum computing. That race will be won or lost in the next five years - with game-changing consequences for both economic power and national security.

Then comes the bad. When America and Europe are not on the same page. Tariff wars between allies weaken prosperity on both sides. And any trans-Atlantic division is opportunistically exploited. Nowhere is this clearer than in our support for Ukraine and our stance against Putin. Europe has too often been forced to follow Trump’s lead in extending the red carpet to Moscow, under the illusion he could be trusted. Britain must be blunt: Putin presents an existential threat to Europe that extends well beyond Ukraine.

Gaza should also be covered. Israel's right to respond to those 7^th October Hamas barbaric attacks is not a licence to use superior military might that’s without a political strategy. Or a disregard of collateral damage.

Finally, the ugly - defining the wider moment both internationally and domestically. Doubts over NATO’s durability cast a long shadow. Our international order is crumbling, leaving space for a China-led alternative to gather pace. But who is best placed to upgrade our global institutions, not least the UN and the World Trade Organization? America, which led on crafting the rules, has now given up on both. Isolationism, protectionism, nationalism - these are not the answers. They compound the problem.

Meanwhile, political violence and disinformation spread across the Atlantic world. The killing of Charlie Kirk, and the large scale demonstrations here in Britain, underline how fragile our political cohesion has become. The trajectory is clear: fragmentation and division, not consolidation and unity.

This visit is more than ceremony. It is a chance to speak plainly, to challenge assumptions, and to demand clarity from the leader of the West. Britain cannot blink. If we seize the opportunity, we can help steer America back toward global leadership and reinforce the foundations of the order that has kept us safe since 1945. If we shrink from that task, history will judge us as bystanders when resolve was needed most.

Finally, the ugly - that defining the wider moment. Doubts over NATO’s durability cast a long shadow. Internationally, our world order is crumbling and is blamed for giving space for a China led alternative to gather pace. But who is best placed to upgrade our global institutions - not least the UN and World Trade Organization. Yet America (that did so much to write the rules in the first place) has given up on both. Isolationism, protectionism and nationalism is not the answer. Indeed, it compounds matters.

Without clear U.S. leadership, Europe’s deterrence weakens - and adversaries notice. China, increasingly assertive in the Pacific and Africa, tests the unity of the Western camp. Britain must use this visit to push for a common strategy, one that balances competition with dialogue, but never concedes on principles of sovereignty and freedom of navigation. Meanwhile, political violence and disinformation spread across the Atlantic world.

The recent killing of Charlie Kirk, and the far-right demonstrations it helped spark here in Britain, underline how fragile our own political cohesion has become. Add to this the unravelling of the post-1945 order - institutions from the UN to the WTO under strain, new China-led bodies rising in parallel - and the picture is one of fragmentation, not unity.

Ukraine continues to bleed. Putin waits for Western resolve to splinter. Britain has held firm, but Trump’s signals about U.S. commitment to Kyiv remain mixed.

Any softening of American backing will be felt most acutely in Europe. We must press for clarity. Climate, too, is a growing wedge. Trump’s dismissal of renewables sits uneasily alongside Britain’s commitments to offshore wind and green transition. If left unresolved, this divergence risks pulling the allies apart just as energy security becomes more urgent. And trade tensions persist. Tariffs and disputes remain on the table. These must be tackled head-on if economic cooperation is to mean more than photo opportunities.

Trumpism sets a new course for America, driven by populism, nationalism, and grievance politics, delivered in blunt, combative rhetoric. It rejects elites and global institutions, champions “America First,” and fuels culture wars that pit “the people” against “the establishment.” Abroad, it assumes the global order is beyond repair. In its place is a multipolar world of great powers, each with its sphere of influence. America’s? From Panama to Canada and even Greenland.

Trumpism in practice means pulling back from the world stage. It’s questioning NATO and disengaging from Europe. It’s tariff wars not free trade. It’s slashing overseas aid, walking out of the Paris Climate Accord, ditching the Iran deal and the TPP. It’s walls at borders, bans on travel, shrinking refugee numbers. It’s cutting funds to the UN and WHO. The message is blunt: alliances are burdens, deals are constraints, America stands alone.

Trump knows the risks. But it plays to his base. “America First” is a simple story: allies freeload, global rules tie America down, borders leak, elites betray. Multilateralism is messy; deals are business. Foreign entanglements don’t win votes. For Trump, strength means standing alone. It’s instinct, politics, and brand, whatever the cost...