McFadden on Sky News this morning, responding to Trump’s claim that NATO faces a “very bad future” if allies don’t deploy warships to the Strait of Hormuz:
“Well, that’s the president right there. The quote that you’ve just given has summed him up. It’s a very transactional presidency, and our job is to navigate this, to always remember that the friendship between the United States and the United Kingdom runs very deep. It’s a good relationship, it’s enduring, and I think it will outlast all the personalities involved.”
Trump and Starmer spoke over the phone last night. The White House isn’t happy that the UK is sitting on its hands. Starmer is up at the lectern at 10:30am…
In Henry Mance’s piece today for the FT, lunching with Nigel Farage:
“Splendido!” Farage says, when the drinks arrive; I suppose it’s a step to European reconciliation. We clink glasses, and he lights the first of two back-to-back Benson & Hedges. A few minutes later, we’re back downstairs. “Are you drinking? Good.” He orders a glass of Sauvignon blanc for each of us — not a bottle, “because it’s Lent” — followed by a bottle of claret, to have with our meal. They say Farage drinks less than he used to. They say a lot of things.”