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| Donald Trump is cornering a willing Keir Starmer (Image: Getty Images) |
However, I face two obstacles to this US trip - one, finances. I totted up how much it would cost me, and if you consider flights, hotels, food and other spending money, it will cost around £5,000, five grand I do not have and probably won't have for a good while. And secondly, the politics, which keeps reaching new levels of volatility. So much so, if its President, Donald Trump, carries on, we'll be comparing the US to North Korea and Iran.
I may sound extreme, but when you consider incidents like the death of political and social commentator Charlie Kirk in September 2025 - who has been donned the status of a martyr like Iran's chief military officer Qasem Soleimani, killed in 2020 by a US air strike in Iraq - as well as the filming of world leaders awkwardly "thanking" Trump for his "commitment to ending wars," and him doing anything he can to throw those who dare disagree with him behind bars or fired from presenting TV shows, I cannot help but conclude in this way. He has gone rogue and is taking the rest of the world down with him.
It's certainly not an America one wants to recognise. Being known as the 'land of opportunity' and 'the free world', in less than a year, borders are practically closed to billions - whether it's tariffs on goods coming into the country, bans imposed on people from a dozen of countries, spot social media checks for international students to see if you're for or against the President, or controversial deportations. Many of us Brits hope we don't see this in the UK, but if the polls are to be believed, it sounds like exactly what many Brits want.
It's, unfortunately, trendy politics aimed at millions disenfranchised by successive governments who they feel let down by. Pitched as 'no-nonsense,' politics 'done differently' and 'patriotic,' in reality, all we're seeing from this are division, animosity and economic upheaval. For so long it had been bubbling behind the scenes, largely ignored and laughed at. 2016 saw a pivotal change when the ideology pushed through the barriers and helped Trump win his first election, and months earlier, the UK majority voted for the country to leave the European Union.
But even then, many in power didn't take the threat seriously. Trump's first four years reduced the country to being a laughing stock, performed side-by-side with the introduction of fellow laughing stock, Boris Johnson, in the UK. The Covid-19 pandemic exposed their politics as it became apparent their lack of seriousness and bullishness were not the way forward - far too many lives were lost, Trump used it to push his own personal agenda, putting himself before country, while Johnson and his posses were breaking nationwide rules and restrictions they introduced. Voters saw through their guff - Biden won the 2020 election and the Capitol riots on 6th January 2021 put a huge dent on Trump's overall credibility.
The problem is that we relaxed from that point. Biden started well, but over time, it was clear Americans only voted him in just to vote Trump out. If you add that to his avoidable gaffes and constant questioning of his age affecting his work, it became hard for the Democrats to remain in power with him at the helm.
We saw similar upheaval in the UK, when Johnson went, and replaced by Liz Truss and then Rishi Sunak all within the same year. In 2024, Keir Starmer and Labour won the election by the same ticket as how Biden got in, with a clear message, "We're voting you in, to get the Tories out." The difference this time is that the British public were never going to give him and his party a chance like how the majority of Americans gave Biden a chance. He already approached the election unpopular; whether it was his 'bland' personality or his approach to the crisis in Gaza. But when you add these to the controversial policies he introduced just as he walked in, such as ditching winter fuel allowance for millions, this will not have helped matters.
Usually, announcements like these would have been a storm in a teacup. But like I yearn to visit the US, I also yearn to not live in times where questionable, and yet popular, social media posts are influencing disenfranchised voters. I miss the time where we gave politicians a benefit of the doubt and trusted the process, or at least when there are policies we didn't like, our criticism would be constructive. Instead, we hear the predictable cries of 'resign, now'.
Don't get me wrong, I have sincere problems with Starmer's government. I am not a fan of his unconditional support towards an Israeli government hellbent on imposing horrors on Palestine, not just since 2023 but before then too. But even more so, I have a problem with the Prime Minister bending over backwards to try and please President Trump. Up to this point, the plan, of sorts, has worked if you're judging by how UK has been arguably less impacted by US tariff hikes compared to the rest of Europe. However, with the BBC, Britain's public-backed broadcaster, being sued by Trump for potentially $5 billion, you would like to think that now is the time for Starmer to be constructive towards the US and say 'enough'. At present, this is tragically missing.
For those out of the loop, the BBC is being sued for its Panorama show, which is being accused of misleading viewers by editing two parts of Trump's speech just before the Capitol riot on 6th January 2021, into one. The edit insinuated that he urged those protesters to 'fight like hell'. That editorial mishap was aired for British viewers a week before the US election - October 2024 - in which he actually won pretty handsomely. But it only was brought to light by a Daily Telegraph expose 12 months later, and the US President has an excuse to seek financial benefit. Above being a President, he is a businessman and wants his pocket full of hard cash.
The BBC, quite rightly, is defending itself. While it admits to the mishap, apologised for it, and two chiefs resigned as a result, it also says that the programme was not aired in the US and therefore, could not have influenced the election outcome. And besides, when you read the transcript in full, it's clear that he had indirectly suggested these protesters to charge. "We fight like hell. And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country anymore," he said. Yes, he said earlier in the speech that protests should be done 'peacefully', but how can you be peaceful and be led to believe that America wouldn't be a country anymore unless you fought 'like hell'? If Panorama editors simply used that part of the speech only, the BBC would not face a lawsuit today.
The BBC - whether people like it or not - is so vital. I am a proud TV licence fee payer, I am passionate about its variety of programming, and the news content, whether it's radio, TV or online, is second-to-none. People who think there is a bias, are simply looking for one and generally don't trust anything that's broadcasted unless it suits their narrative. Does it need improving, yes. What organisation shouldn't strive to better itself? However, without the BBC, we'd much the poorer. And the Liberal Democrat leader, Sir Ed Davey, is right - if you have Trump and Farage vying against it (judging by particularly the former's track record on encouraging press freedom), surely that's more the reason for it to thrive.
If Starmer can't grow a backbone on this, then Trump has won. Trump is getting so much his way (not necessarily in the way of Americans, or the world), we're in danger of seeing a worse side of him when the growing number of opponents become isolated. We're seeing it with Spain, and even with former allies of his, like Marjorie Taylor Greene, who has become a major critic of his and therefore, ties are theatrically cut. This isn't democracy, it's a dictatorship. It's a politics we're going to see if Nigel Farage gets anywhere near power in the UK, if we're not careful. Farage supporters reading this may go, "Yeah, right," but if you are genuinely aghast by Trump, ask yourself why your 'only hope' is actively endorsing him.
The only silver-lining I see from all this is that when you're living in that politics, it is likely the next opportunity is to ditch it once and for all. In the UK, Reform UK-led councils, namely Kent and Derbyshire, are falling apart because promises like dropping council tax aren't being met (in fact, the total opposite is happening), and 'right'-wing politics in the Netherlands and others are being rejected. Starmer can continue that trend if he treats Trump like a constructive friend (if he likes) and dims down the rhetoric on immigration that he's spouting, just to appease Farage supporters. Continue doing so, and Trump/Farage have won. You can argue that they have, years ago, which is why we hear 'UK is in the dumps.' It's not because Farage isn't in power, it's because he is sniffing around like a bad smell which is making feeble politicians react accordingly.
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