Exclusive:
Keir Starmer has arrived in Washington DC for talks with Donald Trump on Ukraine and defence spending – and made an ‘extraordinary’ move to assert his authority, a body language expert says
Donald Trump and Keir Starmer engaged in a “dangerous” back and forth as they greeted one another outside the White House – before an “extraordinary” move by the PM to assert his authority, a body language expert claims.
The two leaders smiled and posed for photos as they shook hands at the entrance to the West Wing of the building – with Trump gesturing to Starmer that he has the “upper hand” ahead of discussions in the Oval Office today, body language expert Mike Carter told the Mirror.
“As Sir Keir gets out of the car, and shakes hands with Mr Trump, the President puts his left hand immediately onto Sir Keir’s upper arm”, body language expert, Mike says. “It’s an immediate gesture to show his authority. Quite literally it says: “I have the upper hand.”
“Mr Trump gives a thumbs up: an (almost) universal chummy gesture suggesting that a peace deal will be easy. Meanwhile Sir Keir fumbles nervously with his cuffs. Then Mr Trump reaffirms his authority by placing his hand on Sir Keir’s back.
“This gesture means: ‘I will be steering you in these negotiations.’ And then something extraordinary happens. Sir Keir places his hand on top of Mr Trump’s shoulder. That’s a dangerous thing to do, as the gesture suggests: ‘Actually, I have the upper hand here, Mr President. Not you!'”
The pair were later seen shaking hands again during a meeting in the Oval Office. Starmer is meeting Trump to plead for a US backstop to any Ukraine ceasefire, insisting it would be the only way to stop Russia’s Vladimir Putin from invading again.
He arrived in Washington late Wednesday to build on a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, amid growing concerns in Europe that the US leader is about to sell Kyiv short in negotiations with Putin.
The PM revealed duing a press conference at the White House that Trump had been invited for an unprecedented second state visit by King Charles. Trump immediately accepted the invitation, making him the first elected political leader in modern times to be hosted for two state visits by a British monarch.
As Starmer handed Trump a letter from Charles, he said: “This is really special. This has never happened before. This is unprecedented.”