More than third of uk voters want state visit for trump if he wins

Sir Keir Starmer should roll out the red carpet for Donald Trump if the controversial former president is re-elected in November, according to more than a third of British voters. There is

major support for the inviting Mr Trump for a state visit if he pulls off a history-making comeback. Thirty-six per cent of British adults want the Prime Minister to issue the invitation,

according to the polling by WeThink. Forty-five per cent do not want him extended this honour but 19 per cent are unsure. Support was strongest among people who had planned to vote Reform UK

in last week’s election (61 per cent) with nearly half of likely Conservative voters (47 per cent) also enthusiastic about an invitation. A former Labour foreign minister stressed the

importance of Sir Keir building a relationship with Trump, saying: “You’ve got to get on with the Americans, haven’t you? We haven’t got any choice.” Former PM Theresa May sparked

controversy when she invited him to the UK. During the 2019 state visit, Mr Trump talked-up the potential for a “phenomenal” US-UK trade deal and dismissed protests against him as “very

small”. If Mr Trump does win re-election, he is expected to hike up pressure on European countries to foot a greater share of the bill for defending Europe. He shocked allies earlier this

year when he said he would “encourage” Russia to do “whatever” it wants to Nato members that do not pay their full share. The former foreign minister said: “If Trump wins he’s certainly

going to put the arm on Europe to pay for its own defences. There’s no question about it, and that means enormous turmoil I would think.” Sarah Elliott, director of the UK-US special

relationship unit at the Legatum Institute, pushed Sir Keir to offer a state visit to the next president. She said: “Our countries have more in common than differences, and we need to show a

united front as soon as possible especially now with the rise of authoritarianism globally. We are each other’s best military and economic allies, and a state visit should then naturally be

expected or extended.”