Wes Streeting speaks about criticising Trump in old tweet
Sir Keir Starmer’s Donald Trump charm offensive will be significantly hampered by insults hurled at the US President-Elect by Labour frontbenchers David Lammy and Wes Streeting, the Prime Minister has been warned.
And Jonathan Sacerdoti also contrasted the various historic slurs – including Foreign Secretary Mr Lammy’s description of the billionaire New Yorker as a “Nazi” – with the “diplomatic common sense” he said had been displayed by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, a close ally of Mr Trump.
Republican Mr Trump will return to the White House after a four-year absence in January, having notched a decisive victory over Democratic rival Kamala Harris in Tuesday’s election, winning both the electoral college and, for the first time, the popular vote.
And his win has focused attention on historic social media posts by both the Foreign Secretary and Health Secretary.
Posting on X, formerly Twitter, in 2017, Mr Lammy, then a backbencher, said: « If Trump comes to the UK I will be out protesting on the streets. He is a racist KKK and Nazi sympathiser.”
Donald Trump and Foreign Secretary David Lammy (Image: GETTY)
However, by yesterday morning he had changed his tone dramatically, saying: « Congratulations to @realDonaldTrump on your victory.
« The UK has no greater friend than the US, with the special relationship being cherished on both sides of the Atlantic for more than 80 years.
« We look forward to working with you and @JDVance in the years ahead. »
Similarly, also posting seven years ago when he was likewise an opposition backbencher, Mr Streeting said: « Trump is such an odious, sad, little man. Imagine being proud to have that as your President.”
Wes Streeting in 2017 called Donald Trump an ‘odious little man’ (Image: Getty)
Pressed on the subject on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday, he said: « The Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary have been working hard to build a relationship with President Trump and his team, so that in the event that he is elected as the next president of the United States, we start with the strong working relationship which is in our national interest and in the interests of the United States as well.
« And it’s not often I would pray and aid Nigel Farage, the leader of the Reform Party but, as he said overnight, President Trump, you know, he speaks as he finds.
« He had a very good meeting with Keir Starmer not too long ago, and of course, he’ll be aware of things that we’ve we’ve all said in the past… »
Nevertheless, journalist and broadcaster Mr Sacerdoti told Express.co.uk: « The Labour government’s past comments about Donald Trump, riddled with insults and hyperbole, now hang awkwardly over its efforts to forge diplomatic ties with an incoming Trump administration.
Nigel Farage is a staunch ally of Donald Trump (Image: Getty)
« Before assuming power, Labour leaders – including David Lammy and Wes Streeting – acted more like unruly schoolchildren than statesmen, lobbing slurs at a US president who, to their surprise, will return to the White House.
« This behaviour now looks not only unprofessional but damaging to the UK’s standing, forcing the country as a whole to share in Labour’s embarrassment, whether the rest of us agree or not with their intemperate comments about the President-elect. »
Such remarks revealed « a startling lack of foresight and a dangerous disregard for realpolitik”, Mr Sacerdoti warned.
He added: « Labour’s leaders seemed certain they wouldn’t need to engage with Trump, perhaps because they believed they would never hold power – or that Trump would never return to it.
« This error demonstrates how naive and insignificant British influence has become in Labour’s hands. Instead of positioning the UK to work alongside powerful forces shaping global events, Labour has placed Britain on the sidelines of major geopolitical trends.
« Their brashly expressed opinions are a liability, having positioned the UK as dismissive rather than influential.”
Thanks to its own “misjudgments”, the Government would find itself “marginalised”, Mr Sacerdoti continued.
Kamala Harris addresses supporters after her defeat yesterday (Image: Getty)
He stressed: « Labour’s words have not only weakened the UK’s influence on the world stage; they’ve ensured it will be neither respected nor heeded by an administration that values loyalty and decisiveness over empty rhetoric. »
It was a very different story when it came to Mr Farage, Mr Sacerdoti pointed out.
He said: « While Labour’s leaders scramble to mend relations and downplay past remarks, Farage’s loyalty has only solidified his relevance in this political moment.
« He was one of the few UK political figures who openly supported Trump from the beginning, but also displayed far more diplomatic common sense than the Labour frontbenchers, having said before the election result that Trump should accept defeat if he lost decisively to Harris.”
Despite some online chatter to the contrary, Mr Sacerdoti said he did not believe Mr Farage would end up Britain’s ambassador to the US.
However, he added: « It’s embarrassing that the leader of a fringe party in the UK Parliament has shown himself to be more considered in his words about the next US President than the actual Foreign Secretary or Health Secretary. »
Sir Keir is trying to build bridges with Mr Trump after the Republican’s campaign filed a legal complaint about Labour activists backing rival Kamala Harris.
Sir Keir congratulated Mr Trump on his « historic victory » after US voters returned him to the White House, Downing Street said.
His official spokesman explained: »The Prime Minister offered his hearty congratulations and said he looked forward to working closely with President-elect Trump across all areas of the special relationship. »
Mr Farage meanwhile described Mr Trump as a « genuine friend of the United Kingdom”, urging the PM to « roll out the red carpet”.
He said: « This is a huge opportunity to be grasped. »
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