Exclusive:
Lip reading expert Nicola Hickling has revealed what US President Donald Trump told Keir Starmer as the British Prime Minister arrived to the White House on Thursday
Donald Trump greets Keir Starmer as he arrives at the White House
A lip reading expert has revealed the first words Donald Trump told Keir Starmer when he arrived to the White House today.
As he greeted the British Prime Minister, the US president said: “You are looking great, travel well? How are you family doing?” Expert Nicola Hickling told The Mirror that after shaking hands, as both leaders turned to the cameras, Trump said: “Kier is going to help me with our oil. Thank you.”
The PM then nodded in agreement before tapping Trump on the shoulder and saying: “Let’s do this, president.” As the pair entered the Oval Office ahead of talks that are expected to cover a range of topics, including the war in Ukraine, Sir Keir handed the US president a letter from King Charles, inviting Trump for an unprecedented second state visit.
Presenting the letter, Sir Keir said: “It is my pleasure to bring from His Majesty the King, a letter. He sends his best wishes and his regards, of course, but he also asked me to bear this letter and bring it to you. So can I present a letter from the King.”
Trump replied: “Thank you very much. Am I supposed to read it right now?” The US President then said he would be visiting the UK in “near future” as he met with the PM in the White House. Trump said it was a “great honour” to welcome Sir Keir, as he added: “It’s a very special place and he’s a special man – and the United Kingdom is a wonderful country that I know very well, I’m there a lot.
“I’ll be going there and we expect to see each other in the near future – we’ll be announcing it,” he added. Trump said: “We’re going to be discussing many things today, we’re going to be discussing Russia/Ukraine, we’ll be discussing trade and lots of other items, and I think we can say we are going to be getting along on every one of them.
“We’ve had a tremendous relationship and, frankly, the Prime Minister and I have met twice before, and we get along very famously, as you would say, and I look forward to it very much. We look forward to the day and the meeting, and we’ll be having a luncheon after this, and then another work session, and I believe we’re going to have a press conference at the end – so I look forward to it and, Mr Prime Minister, thank you very much.”
Trump was also hosted by the late Queen Elizabeth II on a state visit during his first term in office in 2019, but precedent for second-term US presidents who have already made a state visit is usually tea or lunch with the monarch at Windsor Castle, as was the case for George W Bush and Barack Obama.
Trump also said he is “inclined to go along with” the UK’s Chagos Islands deal and said they would be having discussions about the deal during their meeting. He added: “I have a feeling it’s going to work out very well.” Indicating he would be inclined to back the Prime Minister’s deal, the president said: “I think we’ll be inclined to go along with your country.”
