Trump wraps up UK state visit with gratitude for his hosts while largely sidestepping tough issues

AYLESBURY, England (AP) – President Donald Trump said Thursday that he was “tremendously thankful” for the pageantry and splendor lavished on him during his second state visit to the United Kingdom as he wrapped up a trip that largely sidestepped major public disagreements over difficult trade and geopolitical issues.

The mutual warmth, along with Trump’s abundance of kind words bestowed on the host country, suggested that an all-out charm offensive by the royal family and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer had its desired effect, even though there was a notable lack of progress on some key matters.

Trump and Starmer signed what both sides hailed as a historic agreement on science and technology, and they held a roundtable with global business leaders where they suggested the deal could mean significant job gains. Among the topics tackled mostly in private talks between Trump and Starmer were the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and U.S. tariff rates on steel imported from Britain.

“The bond between our countries is like no other anywhere in the world,” Trump said at a news conference at Chequers, a 16th-century manor house northwest of London that serves as a rural retreat for British leaders. The U.S. and U.K., the American president said, have “done more good for the planet than any other nation in history.”

Joining in the bonhomie, Starmer said that “time and time again, it is British and American men and women, side by side, changing the path of history and turning it towards our values, towards freedom, democracy and the rule of law.”

The mutual admiration followed King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s feting of Trump and first lady Melania Trump at Windsor Castle on Wednesday with all the pomp the monarchy can muster, including the biggest military honor guard ever assembled for a state visit.

Trump called the king and queen “two fantastic people” and said he was” “tremendously thankful” and “grateful beyond words” for the hospitality.

Even high-profile points of dissent, such as Britain’s impending move to recognize a Palestinian state, stayed cordial. “I have a disagreement with the prime minister on that score,” Trump said, adding that “it’s one of our few disagreement, actually.”

When Trump was asked about his lack of progress in brokering a deal to end Moscow’s war in Ukraine and he acknowledged that Russian President Vladimir Putin has “let me down,” Starmer escalated the flattery a notch. The prime minister said he and Trump had discussed how to “decisively increase the pressure on Putin” and that Trump had “led the way here.”

There was disagreement, too, over immigration policy.

Trump urged Britain to take a harder line and insisted he had made clear to Starmer that when too many people enter illegally, it “destroys countries from within.” Still, when Starmer sharply criticized Hamas, Trump reached over from his podium and slapped the prime minister on the back in support.

At an earlier signing ceremony for the agreement meant to promote tech investment, Starmer referred to the Republican president as “my friend, our friend” and spoke of “leaders who respect each other and leaders who genuinely like each other.”

The Trumps’ final day in Britain began by bidding farewell to the king and queen at Windsor Castle and flying by helicopter to Chequers for more spectacle: a ceremonial honor guard with bagpipers, in a nod to Trump’s Scottish heritage, and a parachute demonstration. He also was shown the archive of wartime leader Winston Churchill, who coined the term “special relationship” for the bond between the allies.

It’s something Trump’s British hosts have stressed repeatedly, almost 250 years after that relationship endured a rocky start in 1776.

To coincide with the visit, Britain said U.S. companies had pledged 150 billion pounds ($204 billion) in investment in the U.K, including 90 billion pounds ($122 billion) from investment firm Blackstone in the next decade. Investment will also flow the other way, including almost $30 billion by pharmaceutical firm GSK in the U.S.

U.K. officials say the deal will bring thousands of jobs and billions in investment in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and nuclear energy. It includes a U.K. arm of Stargate, a Trump-backed AI infrastructure project led by OpenAI, and a host of AI data centers around the U.K. American companies are announcing 31 billion pounds ($42 billion) in investment in the U.K.’s AI sector, including $30 billion from Microsoft for products including Britain’s largest supercomputer.

British officials said they have not agreed to scrap a digital services tax or water down internet regulation to get the deal, some details of which have yet to be announced.

There was less movement on tariffs.

In May, Starmer and Trump said they had agreed to reduce U.S. tariffs on Britain’s key auto and aerospace industries. Talks on lowering duties on steel and aluminum to zero from their current level of 25% have stalled even with a promise four months ago of a settlement within weeks.

The British government has grown increasingly critical of Israel’s conduct in Gaza and the suffering of Palestinian civilians. Starmer said the situation was “a humanitarian catastrophe” as he acknowledged a divide with the president on recognizing a Palestinian state.

While the prime minister has played a major part in European efforts to shore up U.S. support for Ukraine, Trump’s visit offered few major advancements,

Trump has expressed frustration with Putin, but has not made good on threats to impose new sanctions on Russia. The king, in his state banquet speech Wednesday night, offered Trump a gentle nudge, noting “as tyranny once again threatens Europe, we and our allies stand together in support of Ukraine, to deter aggression and secure peace.”

It seemed like questions about Jeffrey Epstein would dog Trump throughout the trip, especially given that his visit began days after Starmer fired Britain’s ambassador to the U.S., Peter Mandelson, over the envoy’s past friendship with the convicted sex offender, who authorities say killed himself in 2019.

But Trump largely avoided the issue. Police did arrest four people over a stunt that saw an image of Trump and Jeffrey Epstein projected on a tower at Windsor Castle.

Asked about Mandelson during the news conference, Trump said only that he did not know the former ambassador, despite photographs showing the pair together in the Oval Office.

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Weissert reported from Washington. AP Technology Writer Matt O’Brien contributed to this report.