It's a peculiar enthusiaism, I admit, but this is a great morning for fans of right-wing media contortions. The desperation to find negatives in an obviously successful trip is a joy to behold. Even for those of us deeply discomfited by the whole event.
😂
I am from Azerbaijan. And I solemnly confirm that Trump did not stop the Karabakh War between Azerbaijan and Armenia. Good thing he did not try to pronounce Nagorno-Karabakh word. Lol
🤣 I kinda wish he had 😂 Thank you for clarifying. I was certain trump was lying and your words confirm it. He hasn't stopped any war. At all. Anywhere. Anytime.
I heard he said albania instead of Armenia. Did he? I choose to never hear his voice (or see his face) as much as I can. Sorry if you had to listen to him 🤮
Yes, he did. That made me chuckle. Lol I am addicted to RFK jnr's voice,
😂 I cannot stand RFKjr voice 😵💫 I feel if he had a really good cough he might clear it 😀
"Aberbaidan and Albania" was my preferred chortle.
Did he really say that? 😂
Unfortunately, yes. Azerbaijan and Armenia bolted on him, leaving him only a vague outline of the sounds he would soon be making.
Flippin' heck! 🤣 Not surprising though really. I guess Aba -blah-blah-something-or-other is close enough for the diapered king atop his mountain of dung.
I understand the potential economic benefits of the 'special relationship ' but how far are we prepared to go in our support of an increasingly authoritarian US government. This is a very slippery slope to appeasement.
Are those saying hold our nose for just three more years being over optimistic?
'Obviously successful' needs caveats so large you can see them from the ISS.
I think that that guy will make piles of money.
Brigitte Macron has had to sue to protect herself from an avalanche of this stuff. After Alex Jones was successfully sued they backed off on Sandy Hook. Attack is sometimes the best line of defence. The ideology, its greed. Pure and simple its use lies to make money.
It was wonderful! Pomp and circumstance taken to the point of- or even beyond- parody. If you didn't laugh out loud you've lost your sense of humour.
Starmers damned if he does et etc. Labour could cure all known diseases and give us immortality but the media will headline “Labour destroys Medical and Funeral careers”. With 4 years left, introduce a wealth tax. It’ll be repealed if Reform get in but it’s 4 years of hurt for them.
The high point of the whole unpleasant episode was the horse 'saying' what most of us thought... youtu.be/fCFcHYWL6gQ?...
Just listened to Bella and agree but, big but if by fluffing trumps feathers it saves lives in Ukraine and Gaza then it was worth while but don’t want to see him here for a long time
@mrjamesob.bsky.social As an American who is appalled at what has happened to my country in the past 10 years, I suggest you re-listen to Bella in Bristol’s call on Wednesday. She perfectly summed up why this is a global problem, not just a USA problem. Ignore her warnings at your own peril.
I usually agree with you James, but in this instance to see the absolute needless fawning of this man was repugnant. Particularly William & Kate who seemed absolutely gleeful to be in Trump’s presence. It appears your heir to the throne & his wife are more MAGA than you would like to believe!
Realpolitik from 70s...
Starmer's face gave absolutely nothing away while Trump was speaking at the press conf. That is a skill in itself, especially when Trump is talking nonsense.
Even got Trump to give him a pat on the arm, that's always a good sign that Trump does have some respect.
KC111 nearly cracked at Trump’s final farewell. He just about managed it.
I see Charles had to explain to Trump that as he & Camilla lived there, Trump would actually have to leave and pointed to the gate at Windsor Castle! 🤣🤣🤣 www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...
Can we have stricter rules about people coming here in big planes? We correctly have strict rules about housing arrangements of members of the Gvt but less strict about welcoming convicted felons into the country.Will the King be available to dial pageantry to 11 when any other law breakers visit?
Stop the Big Planes!
Interesting that the Tech Bros who are investing in the Uk are doing so because of all the cheap energy we have - renewables cost a lot less than the fossil fuels they replace.
Successful? All that fawning over a fascist?
Better than waking up to a 50% tariff rate because something upset him?
“When BBC US Editor Sarah Smith asked if the visit would boost Britain's influence on trade or foreign policy, White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles said "none at all."”
You're funny. Like he won't just toss the "deal" (which technically is not in the purview of the executive branch anyway) and slap on tariffs at a whim next time he gets a fart crosswise and England is the only country whose name he can remember.
Don't think your quite au fait with the nuances of UK politics.
Am I the only one who feels sorry for Starmer and the Royals on having to endure that? It would have finished me off
We invited Trump twice. Not out of pragmatism or even mutual economic benefit. But out of fear. There's nothing 'successful' about that.
MAD
You are making James’ point for him.
Fear debases us. I'm not sure that's the point he's making here
I don’t accept your point that he was invited out of fear.
I'm afraid I think the Starmer administration is terrified of him. Along with the billionaires, the conglomerates, etc
I’d have thought the Tory and their press mouthpieces would be delighted to see that Labour are embracing pedophilia with such abandon.
I'm assuming that with all the gyrations in the likes of the Mail and the Telegraph, they've got a chiropractor on the payroll...
Of course it was successful. Most bribe payoffs are. The Felon gave GM a transfer to shut her up (pardon on the way?) & made sure the King’s brother wouldn’t be popping up in the Pedophile News anytime soon. Pres. Felon, a true master criminal, is still enjoying payoffs using Epstein’s syndicate.
Thing is the trip's success is purely that it didn't go wrong. In the absence of any benefit beyond that you have to ask 'What was the point?'
A successful trip because a deal was made? After he tore up NAFTA Trump negotiated USMCA. Which he claimed to be the greatest deal the US had ever got. It took effect after he left office. On returning to office he immediately announced it was a terrible deal and completely unfair. Imposing tariffs
On both Canada and Mexico. Other trade deals made by him were torn up over the months to come. Just as - throughout his entire life - he has welched on every deal he has ever made with every contractor and supplier he has ever made. Not to mention the banks who he has consistently not paid agreed
Interest rates on. If Trump does rip off someone he has made a deal with he feels cheated. - look how South Korea are feeling about the deal they made to build a Hyundai plant in Georgia. There is no such thing as a deal with Trump
As a footnote, the agreement to leave Afghanistan was also Trumps. He has now revealed that he intends to go back into Afghanistan, something that he’s been discussing behind closed doors for some time. The intention is to at least take control of the airbase there.
They can't really moan about all that investment, it's what the Tories would've wanted. Singapore on Thames and all that.
normalising an authoritarian rapist is a winner
Owens is doing what Trump did before he became a politician; undermining political figures, like when he demanded to see Obama's birth certificate. #LBC
It might be worth swerving TikTok, James. #LBC #jamesobrien www.techdirt.com/2025/09/17/t...
Guess twitter wasn't enough for their new version of Pravda
Let's wait and see if the promised investment actually materialises, or whether it's dangled at arm's length for the next few years to influence the UK government away from decisions Trump and Heritage don't like.
Exactly that.
Oh the orange idiot will wake up tomorrow get upset about something (actually true) and will cancel the whole thing. You know he will do it, if it doesn’t benefit him or his billionaire buddies.
Current climate has shades of a program I am watching, on a leader, supported by yesmen at every level of Gov, who rounded up people he saw as outsiders & sent them to camps for extermination. Any internal opposition was malevolently quashed by him, the judiciary he controlled, & blind supporters.
Forgot to mention a supportive/cowed media that served to dispel the doubts of those who questioned the ethics of the program, partly by featuring fables about criminal behaviour by the regime's targets.
A leader in 1930s - 40s that we have all heard of.
But it feels like selling my soul to the devil and a I feel a tad grubby don't you?
did we ever host Hitler in a state event?
I reckon Edward VII would have been pretty open to that.
They are talking the country down! Very unpatriotic of them.
My main take away was being sickened by how much the media (that I saw) was fawning over these awful people
If/when it becomes obvious that reform uk ltd has "transitioned" into a far right party, who will report them as such, especially in the UK? Just asking. x
It should not have happened in the first place. It’s like wooing an orange version of Mussolini!
Tangerini?
The visit is now over no more speculation about what's going to occur,how Trump would interact with the PM and how embarrassing it could be .Criticism about the timing, saying it was too early but the US is a tinderbox right now so thank god we've got it out of the way .
Successfully took away accreditation for Australian reporters and arrested people for throwing light at Windsor castle, so JD Vance proven right about free speech.
I wonder at the people who just don’t get that regardless of the person, there is still a relationship with the country to maintain. This was so obviously an exercise in stroking Shitlers ego. But it worked - we got a trade deal from it. Is it perfect? No. But what is?
Correct, KS is playing the game. Don’t rock the boat, keep on the side of the US for as long as possible. I’d prefer it if we aligned more with the EU but that not being the case we do what we have to do.
Oh EU alignment is coming, people have woken up to the lies peddled by Farrige (definitely a closet homosexual) and his cronies
What was "obviously successful" about it? Surely you didn't fall for the excruciating fawning Shopping Channel level of BBC and Sky coverage! UK establishment exposed itself as a desperate player on the world stage, out of EU and putting a toddler in charge of the sweetie shop for a few days🙄
Nothing went horrendously wrong. That’s a success.
The lofty expectations we all carry these days 😄
The principle of the entire exercise was 'horrendously wrong'. I've never been so disappointed to hear good Scottish tunes put to waste. I sincerely hope the final choice of 'Scotland the Brave' was a GRFUY from the band 😂
If your only concern is perception then it is not a good look but we are where we are.Its like having to invite relations you can’t stand over for Xmas and hoping everyone can get through it without saying what you were obviously thinking.The collective sighs of relief were audible from here.
The perception gets worse when you take into account the Epstein links. Trump (obviously) Starmer (Mandleson) the King (Andrew). Add the sheer opulence of the Banquet when the Guest of Honour is largely responsible for Palestinians dying from starvation, all while they were gorging themselves.
www.thecanary.co/uk/news/2025...
Try this James... bsky.app/profile/voxl...
They must be gutted. Expect pivot to "State visit successful - here's why it's disastrous for Starmer/great for Farage"!
What were the successes?
welcome to the world of Realpolitik
My personal opinion about this is that Starmer should have spent that valuable time in strengthening ties with the EU and perhaps closer to undoing Brexit. In the current context, it's a much safer bet to protect the UK from Trump's threats. As a Canadian, I like what mark Carney has been doing...
...so the orange buffoon doesn't get the luxury of a state visit in Ottawa. Our PM went to Mexico yesterday to strengthen our economic ties between countries still respectful of the free trade agreement. We have been strengthening ties with European and Asian partners while keeping Trump at bay.
And speaking of proof of deeper ties with (democratic) Asian partners, Japan (YES, JAPAN) sent JASDF fighter jets at 5 Wing Goose Bay in Canada to "promote defence cooperation and exchange" for the first time yesterday. We're also aware of security in the Indo-Pacific. bsky.app/profile/mini...
re: White House crackdown on 'The Left' - FYI www.instagram.com/reel/DOx2iTO...
It’s obvious that Kemi, Mel Stride and Chris Philp would have done it better. Any fule kno that.
Liz the Lettuce would have offered him Kent as a leaving present.
Chiz chiz
Can anybody confirm the story that Trump asked King Charles why he had built his castle so close to the airport?
The mad king, New York’s son is here and we are within his reach, we can rely on nothing but capriciousness and cruelty from here on. Bankrupted casino world. UNLESS! he cares about appearances and our royalty is to him archetypal? The real thing is real, medium is message etc.
The hateful Daily Mail, platforming the foreign insurrectionist, President Trump above Sir Keir as in using military to handle migrants or not use Green technologies in hottest yr on record. The Daily Mail is no more patriotic to our government than an isolated street dog turd .
Starmer managed to get rid of one of those dangerous foreign criminals everyone’s so obsessed about! [Community Note: He invited him into the country in the first place…]
1 in, 1 out, in action.
Pretty sure it was Charlie that invited him, no?
The invite was on behalf of the government from the King, if you want to be pedantic. The Royals mostly do what they are told - apart from associating the PDF's
King decides nothing like that.
That's the protocol. In reality, it's the PM.
smells like a loophole to me :P
The monarch acts on behalf of the govt.
We are in a world that lost it's morals a long time ago, and we (the UK) certainly contributed to it. The whole Trump visit makes me glad l'm not a politician, you sell out your soul in a moment. Sickening really.
Even if it wasn't Trump as president, we still need to trade with US. There will be many people glad of the jobs created here.
At the end of the day, the right-wing media are traitors, at the beginning of the year when Musk was meddling regarding grooming gangs they took Musk's side.
BBC is one of the main naysayers. Chris Mason et al!
Even @itvpeston.bsky.social was a disappointment. Wasted his question on repeating the Trump's dancing monkey journo's question.
Peston is always a dreadful disappointment to me. Right up there with Laura, Mason and that Question Time horror.
We really needed the News Agents in the room to ask questions without fear.
🎯
Makes reaching for the remote control the best option possible.
These people have worms in their brains.
Brains?
lmao, in grey matter only.
I was struck by how Melania was relaxed and genuinely smiling, clearly enjoying time with Kate and the children. While Trump was on different premises.
Same here
What are you talking about now ?
"Successful"
I wonder if we will look back at this week in shame at the way we fawned to a profoundly undemocratic narcissistic tyrant
I dunno, I don't see what could possibly go wrong with trying to use appeasement to protect British interests...?🤔 www.historyisnowmagazine.com/blog/2020/12...
Pragmatism always rules. For 4 years we were best mates with a genocidal tyrant (Stalin) because it was “necessary” There are no morals in international relations.
We got the investment and trade. Worth the price.
It would be a massive own-goal to cost the country billions in investment just to have the satisfaction of not pandering to Trump's ego. If a bit of pomp from the Royals is enough to bring in £150bn in investment then only an idiot wouldn't do it. It doesn't mean we have to change policy for him.
Not sure I would rely on the Trump administration committing to anything agreed this week, going by previous examples.
The removal of US TV comedians, deportation, cutting some university funding, pressuring TV stations....1933 Berlin revisted
Yes. You can bet money on it.
And they are all projecting their own wishes on to a blank slate.
Regarding the visit, I like to think he was gently trolled as we kept him locked up in Windsor. Getting a ride round the grounds in a fancy carriage like a toddler on a fairground ride.
Excellent
Starmer and Reeves have refused to let the NAO fully evaluate SEZs.
Starmer will have given up all sorts of financial concessions to these enhusiastic investors within the scope of freeports/SEZs, that he will not want to talk about. There is a big question about true value for money & whether that lost tax revenue would be better injected direct into the economy.
This guy used to be Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Tell me again how Keir Starmer is unfit to govern
There may come a time when it is impossible to ignore the bad things Tr*mp is doing. But at that time, European leaders will have to move together. There is no point in unilaterally making an enemy of a very powerful lunatic.
The press are going big on Trump's advice to use the military to stop the boats and 'drill, baby, drill' in the North Sea as if they weren't totally bonkers ideas!
Bonkers is understatement. 😄 Americans don't get the British constitution (because it's old and made of our Acts) it's not easy for them to digest.
how is your new king ?
If Keir Starmer stopped all the wars in the world the Daily Mail, Daily Telegraph, Daily Express and Sun (yes they are all right wing media) would turn it into a negative. He isn't perfect but the Trump whisperer has to be given credit.He didn't capitulate on anything and Trump didn't have a tantrum
Haha yeah if Kier Starmer became a completely different person who wanted to stop a genocide and stop making sure all his rich donors got richer - and win back the voters who installed him. Here's the thing - he doesn't care
‘Starmer destroys the UK defence industry.’
Have you noticed gross comments by angry Americans ? Is that a new import?
You all sucked him off for the second time… what world you living in ?
Its called diplomacy, Trumps tenure will end in 3 years, we're making the best out of a bad situation, believe it or not the vast majority of people in the UK can't wait to see Trump out of the WH whether its in a box or voted out.
Trump may be lucky to last another 3 months given his health. Everyone is just buying time at the stage.
That could be true hence the reason we keep all lines with the USA open.
Laughable you think there are 3 years to survive. With Elon and trump working full time to over throw your government and then you invite trump a second time !! sucking up to authoritarianism for what ???
How else do you try to talk to Trump, should we just ignore him, tell him to fuck off, tell him we want nothing to do with America, is that what you want for America, isolated with no political allies?
Yes this.
I mean yeah you tell the want to be dictator to fuck off… I see you must like what he is saying to defend him so much
Ok pal, just you livein your isolated American and we'll just leave you to fester, shame because as I said you've got the vast majority of people in the UK on your side including the current UK government, see ya.
Think you may have a point of reference to look back to in the coming years bc this guy changed our Dept of Defense name to DEPARTMENT OF WAR name for a fucking reason, & that is to get us into a war we won't have a chance to vote in, just wait, these are not fucking normal times by a long shot. 🤷♀️
We see that, we see what he's done but again what would you want us to do, cut you off, forget about you, leave you to rot with no friends and allies?
Interesting exchange! Deal with Trump. Appeal to his vanity or ego or cut him off? I don’t know the answer. But I’m sure Starmer isn’t enjoying any of this one bit but does it to protect UK jobs as much as possible. There may come a time soon when he has to change tack. Putin may be the reason
Starmer is doing a fine impression of Neville Chamberlain. Soon he will have egg on his face as pragmatism does not overrule moral responsibility. The fact that we have violent RW protestors treated more favourably than peaceful protestors against Palestinian genocide tells the story.
Yaaasssss. It's called hitting rock bottom. And unfortunately, we need to go there to wake people the fuck up.
Oh just nuke Manhattan ffs 😉
If you are on "our side" you'd shut can Trump. He's destroying everything he touches.
And the dictator trashes your economy with tariffs and policies that support your enemies.
yeah its really not a good time here. hence me wondering whats the attraction for you all to cozey up with him, so far the best i got is you all like it
Jesus wept, you've been told multiple times why the UK is continuing our relationship with the USA but you can't or won't take it in. You said Trump WAS America, you're American so therefore you are also Trump, you see how it works?
That's because we Brits are good at using hospitality to get things. We can be hospitable to dictators for reasons of trade and commerce (i.e. our self interest) without actually liking the dictator.
"so far the best i got is you all like it." Can you give the example here of anyone saying that?
Majority of people in UK hate Trump and everything stands for. But if the American people have voted him in then our Gov have to work with whomever is in charge. We cannot change what is happening in America only American people can do that. We have our very own Trump to deal with in Nigel Farage!!
Id be absolutely pissed off if all our allies abandoned us if reform plc won a general election.
I don't think they're fans of Trump. What they seem to be saying is that he's so powerful that the UK has to appease him or it will be punished. "Resist tyranny (unless it's too strong)". Quite the inspiring call to arms
At what point did Jockey defend Trump? The majority of UK citizens despise him. But we recognise that he is probably the most powerful man in the World and at the same time deeply vain and evil. If you think telling him to "fuck off"would help anything you need to wobble your head.
sure sure appeasement has worked wonders for so many so far... like who has the wobbly head here ?
So what's your solution?
dont invite him over, dont negotiate with a strong man who only cares for himself. . call out the authoritarian actions... support a free press, you know lead from the front
It's nice that you feel bad for the US running out of allies, but you shouldn't worry. They'll always have El Salvador, Israel, Hungary etc
Seems to be what this guy wants, perhaps he'd prefer Putin to welcome Trump?
Isn’t it just the case that governments around the globe are having to deal in the best way they can with the government the people of America voted for. That is beyond our control. We control and manage as best we can with what we’ve been served by the American people.
👍👍👍
Yes. And I'm American. There have to be consequences. This appeasement shit is making things worse.
It’s hardly appeasement when trying to negotiate a path for your country through minefields of toxic shit which change position with no warning. Some people will never acknowledge anything Starmer achieves no matter how beneficial to the country they prove to be..
It's total appeasement & it never works. Ask Lisa Murkowski. She "negotiated a path" for her state "through minefields of toxic shit..." just to have all deals cancelled once she gave her vote. There are no deals with these ppl. They are bottomless pits of need and greed. They need to be told no.
UK is stronger than people realize. We've taken prime minister to court and won. We've kicked out three prime ministers in one year.
Actually it's called helping the attack on US democracy - which will also rebound on these shores. Trump got the good photo ops he wanted. The UK got nothing except the shame of bending the knee to an orange ball of slime.
Sure petal sure.
Have you tried X? I think youd like it there. Lots of fellow Trump supporters to chat to. I wouldn't say Bluesky is too intellectual exactly but it probably seems like that to you.
Yes, clowns like you took over.
It’s really bad here right now, so it’s unreal why ANYONE else would invite that in.
Because we can see the bigger picture, Trump ISN'T America, we want to maintain the political alliance for the next 100 years.
TRUMP very much is America - You out of the loop on what’s going down ?
So you want everyone to leave you to it, fair enough.
Bye then!
Honestly you should try X. I think you'd like it.
I have chump, had to leave because of clowns like you making shite up.
you are arguing it’s good to suck up to a dictator ?? Why ?
No, if you actually read what I'm saying you'll find I'm saying the exact opposite, WE see the long game, do you want the UK to continue as an allie or cut the USA off because thats what it looks like you want?
You really should leave for X. You'd like it much better than bluesky. More your kind of people.
For a min I thought you were talking about Molly and not Twitter 😂
It is debatable if Trumps term will end in 3 years. He will attempt another.
I think he will but thats up to the citizens of the USA to stop that happening but as Ive said before we can't just put everything on hold on an "if".
It's called appeasement. If you think Trump is going anywhere in 3 years you haven't been paying attention. Nobody stops his daily assaults on our rule of law, you think he's gonna stop with free speech and concentration camps? Only way he leaves office is dying of old age.
bsky.app/profile/sane...
Meanwhile, the global majority (Africa,Asia &their descendants) solves problems w/ reliable partners. UK needs this majority to survive. www.worldbank.org/en/news/pres... www.latimes.com/opinion/stor... brics.br/en/documents... www.theguardian.com/global-devel... wwnorton.com/books/born-i...
How is this different from people voting Trump just to piss off people like you? You gormless erection
Any favourites? For those of us not willing to wade through right wing media?
The fact we’ve had a roll out the red carpet for this monster makes me sick. We have people waiting for weeks on the NHS for cancer treatment and we spend a fortune fluffing this creep?! I console myself with the fact that a large part of this was for Ukraine, and I can (just about) live with that.
We have people waiting for cancer treatment and American companies trying to increase their prices, egged on by Trump. It leaves us all with a taste of sick in our mouths but if fluffing Trump keeps cancer drug prices down then it’s worth it, surely?
No. He's single-handedly killed cancer research. There is no fluffing him. He's a bottomless pit of need and greed...
I’d love to tell the Orange cunt to fuck off, but then that’s why I am an armchair warrior and Starmer is PM. I’m not saying that the state visit was right - I don’t know and wouldn’t expect to know - but government is a lot more complicated than going with your gut feel. As Reform are finding out.
Yeah duh. And it's more than a "gut feel" to put this administration in its place instead of ignoring the law-breaking, the cruelty, the incompetence, and quite frankly the murder and persecution he's committing. We've done that appeasement shit before
"Even for those of us deeply discomfited by the whole event." - covers a multitude of sins. But I agree.
Pathetic gullible voters…”To think that we settled Azerbaijan and Albania, as an example, it was going on for years.” Armenia, Trump. Not Albania.
I found it amusing that Chris Mason had to resort to trying to make Trump's comments about Khan his main lead on the news last night, and then seeing him visibly shrink as he had to concede that it went as well as expected and he had nothing to hammer Starmer for.
CM is an oily little sneak IMHO.
I suspect this whole escapade was set up to blow sufficient smoke up Trumps arse to buy us, and the rest of Europe for that matter, time to get our own act together on defence and other matters independently of the US. Even if Trump pegs it tomorrow, the old order is gone. That is the new reality.
Good point about Stalin.
I don't think it's successful for Starmer in the least. Trump despised in the country, so aligning the UK to him will backfire. Trump got his state visit the UK, nothing but a sharp reminder on how quickly it has fallen.
Your colleague Iain Dale had Toby Young, head of the Free Speech Union, on last night. He (Young) blocked me around a decade or so ago on Twitter for… *checks notes*… exercising my free speech.
The only bit I really appreciated was your excellent and appropriately deferential royal commentary yesterday. Have the BBC called yet?
Like the Telegraph blaming Britain for faults in the special relationship?
