Sir Keir Starmer wants to relight his ‘bromance’ with Donald Trump, a body language expert told Metro.
Judy James said the British prime minister appeared ‘anxious’ as he greeted the US president at Trump’s golf club in Turnberry, Scotland, today.
Trump began day three of his four-day visit to Scotland by meeting Sir Keir and his wife, Lady Victoria, at the steps of the resort.
Sir Keir ‘looked anxious and rather awkward next to Trump’ as the Republican ranted about Gaza, windmills and tariffs to reports outside, said James.
But the session was awkward from the get-go, the communication expert said, after Starmer lost out on a handshake when greeting Trump.
Sign up for all of the latest stories
Start your day informed with Metro’s News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.
James said: ‘Starmer looked like a man on a mission to get his non-verbal “bromance sight bite”.
‘[Trump] suddenly went for the hand on the shoulder, a gesture he’s used before when he clamped Trump’s shoulder in the White House as he presented the President with his invite from the King.
‘It came more as a “lightning” gesture, with his arm flashing out. Trump’s response was to hold his right hand out for a shake rather than to reciprocate with any mutual patting.’
Trump ‘owned’ the initial greeting of the Starmers, James said, as he made Victoria the ‘focus of his gaze and flattery more than the eager PM’.
James added: ‘As Trump turned to the press, drowned out by bagpipes, Starmer adopted a more obsequious pose beside him, standing with his hands clasped together around waist or lower chest height.
‘There was one moment when he requested to join in as Trump spoke, raising his hand and opening his mouth in a non-verbal interruption, but Trump didn’t pause, leaving Starmer to pretend he was just studying his fingernails instead.’
Sir Keir folded his arms as Trump spoke about Gaza, where Palestinians are facing impending famine amid Israeli blockages, the UN says.
Figures shared with Metro by an aid group on the ground show how food prices have swollen in the enclave, with a bag of flour now costing £414.
Trump said he did not agree with Israeli leader Netanyahu that there is no starvation in Gaza, adding that ‘those children look very hungry’.
During these remarks, Sir Keir appeared ‘anxious and rather awkward’, James said, adding that his crossed arms were akin to a ‘body barrier’.
She added: ‘Otherwise it was Starmer letting off a non-stop flurry of anxiety rituals, from a cuff-fiddle to a cuff-stroke, a fiddling with his tie and belt and some licking of his lips to suggest his mouth was dry.’
When Trump laid into ‘nasty’ Sadiq Khan, telling reporters he was doing a ‘terrible job’ as Mayor of London, the Prime Minister finally interjected.
Holding his hand up to cut off the President, Sir Keir forced a chuckle, to remind Trump: ‘He’s a friend of mine, actually’.
Elsewhere, Trump said he was ‘disappointed’ in the Russian president, Vladimir Putin, for not ending the war in Ukraine.
He told reporters: ‘We thought we had that settled numerous times, and then President Putin goes out and starts launching rockets into some city like Kyiv, and kills a lot of people in a nursing home or whatever.
‘You have bodies lying all over the street. And I say that’s not the way to do it.’
With Russia’s war against Ukraine in its third year, Trump said Putin has up to 12 days to make peace or face sanctions, rather than the 50-day deadline he set earlier this month.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
