The British prime minister is the latest would-be Trump whisperer from Europe to butter up a capricious president

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How the tables have turned. Once upon a time visitors had to fawn over mad King George III and maintain the great pretence that everything was normal. Now it was the British prime minister’s turn to show deference to a capricious, erratic US president might blow it all up.

First Keir Starmer, the 58th British prime minister (does Liz Truss really count?), and Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th US president, sat side by side before the fireplace in the Oval Office. Trump stretched credulity by claiming they “get along famously”. Starmer thanked Trump for “changing the conversation” on Ukraine.