When British Prime Minister Keir Starmer receives guidance on how to handle his crucial meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House, he will be instructed by advisers from Downing Street and the Foreign Office to be very clear on his main points and, above all, to be brief.

“Trump gets bored very easily,” said one well-placed Whitehall source with knowledge of the president’s attention span. “When he loses interest and thinks someone is being boring, he just tunes out. He doesn’t like Emmanuel Macron partly because Macron talks too much and tries to lecture him,”

Starmer will also be advised to flatter Trump when he can, to say that everyone is so grateful that he has focused the world’s attention on the need for peace between Russia and “Ukraine”. But to flatter subtly. And not to lay it on too thick.

Theresa May’s cautionary tale offers valuable insight into the delicate balance of diplomatic interaction. One – unconfirmed – story from Theresa May’s trip to meet Trump at the White House in 2017 provides strong advice for current Prime Minister,keir Starmer.

“When May first went to see Trump, she was told she had to congratulate him on lots of things,” said one source.”

“So she rushed over to him and congratulated him on his new cabinet appointments, saying: ‘You’ve appointed a great team, Donald.’”

“At which point he said: ‘Oh thank you so much, Theresa – who do you particularly like among them?’ Which left her a bit stumped, so she just said: ‘Oh, well, all of them, Donald.’”

The lesson, without much further comment, is that too much flattery can get you into trouble if you do not do your homework, as would most likely rear its head at some point during some conversation with Donald Trump.

Destabilizing Effect of Trump’s Interventions

Dealing with, and responding to, Trump in his self-appointed role as ultra-provocative would-be global peacemaker is requiring other leaders the world over to perform near-impossible balancing acts when framing their responses. When dealing with President Trump’s wildly inconsistent rhetoric, leaders around the world are confronted with his self-appointed role as a divisive intermediary in international affairs.’)).

The Latest Controversies Involving Trump

Many of the President. Trump’s statements on the Ukraine conflict, much like the most contentious (and mostly unsubstantiated) comments to date, such as those suggesting that Ukraine was responsible for the Russian invasion and that its president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is a dictator are regarded by European governments, including the British one, as patently ludicrous.

Yet at the same time, no one can say so for fear of what the man who said those things will do next and what revenge he might wreak in return.

The latest controversies are the product of the divisive style of debate that has sharply welcomes and rejected public debate and perceptions based on carefully targeted Facebook and other social media content.

The Recommendations Comming from Political Insiders

Peter Ricketts, former UK ambassador to Paris, said that Starmer should himself tune out from Trump’s mind manipulation tactics.”He should focus not on what Trump says but what he does. He needs to get into Trump’s mind that a rushed deal with.

While cross-continental mud-slinging has intensified, UK political leaders have had a painfully difficult few days trying to adapt to Trump’s barrage of remarks, the latest of which was to say neither Starmer nor Macron — who will meet Trump at the White House

Navigating the Political Landscape

Even Nigel Farage, who has touted his close ties to President Trump, has felt the need to equivocate in his statements. Having prided himself on his friendship with Trump, he found himself walking a thin line, declaring partisan dependence without invalidating the US President’s controversial statements.

Speaking to Sky News on Thursday about Trump’s statement that Zelenskyy was a dictator, Farage said: “Take everything Trump says truthfully, but not literally.”