‘Could you take on Russia by yourself’: Trump cuts short Starmer’s response with an awkward poser

US President Donald Trump asked a question during his meeting with Keir Starmer that evoked awkward laughs in the room. Starmer used this meeting to press Trump to not abandon Ukraine as POTUS pushes to end the war and grow his camaraderie with Russia’s Putin.

The US president began praising the UK for “taking care of themselves” adding that Washington would readily help the country if their peacekeeping forces came under attack in the future. He, however, reiterated that “they don’t need help”.

Adding to what Trump said, Starmer pitched in and added, “We (US and UK) have always been backing each other up. That is why it is the greatest alliance the world has ever seen.” At this moment, the US president interrupted Starmer and asked, “Could you take on Russia by yourself?”

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Donald Trump to Keir Starmer:

“Could you take on Russia by yourselves?” pic.twitter.com/LqpQcxh8CY

— James Melville 🚜 (@JamesMelville) February 27, 2025

With a mix of flattery and frank talk, the center-left Starmer made the case to the Republican president to remain cautious as he goes about ending the biggest conflict in Europe since World War II.

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The British premier started the visit by delivering an invitation from King Charles III to come to Scotland for a “historic” state visit — noting it was an “unprecedented” honor since Trump already had been given the royal treatment by Queen Elizabeth II during his first term.

“You’ve created a moment of tremendous opportunity to reach a historic peace deal — a deal that I think would be celebrated in Ukraine and around the world,” Starmer told Trump. “That is the prize. But we have to get it right.”

Starmer’s visit came after French President Emmanuel Macron was in Washington earlier this week to make a similar case to Trump, and a day before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled to visit the White House. The British leader leaned into the idea that Trump was the glue to maintaining the peace in Ukraine should the three-year war end.

With inputs from agencies