Britain pulled out all the stops for US President Donald Trump. A second state visit, something no other US president has ever received, came with an “extra-large” guard of honor, a royal banquet in Windsor Castle, and plenty of flattering words from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Outside the pageantry, thousands of protesters filled London’s streets. Waving Palestinian flags, denouncing Trump’s climate policies, and demanding solidarity with migrants, they voiced a starkly different message: Britain should keep its distance from the US president.
But the government’s goal was clear: avoid disaster, extract some pledges from Trump and show that the “special relationship” between the UK and the US is alive and well. From a European perspective, the real question is: did it work? And what can the EU learn from that?
“It wasn’t a massive success in terms of tangible outcomes, but it wasn’t the disaster some in government feared either,” Time Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary University of London, told DW.
“Diplomacy is often about flattery,” he explains. Trying to get what you want by making someone feel good. “The trouble is, it doesn’t always result in something tangible once the visit is over.”
Sophia Gaston, Senior Fellow at King’s College London, takes a different view. “Securing and cementing leader-level relationships is an extremely important outcome in and of itself. It’s the gateway to being able to achieve any of the policy outcomes,” she told DW.
Ed Owen, Senior Fellow with the Europe Center at the Atlantic Council, agrees: “Having that face time and personal contact with Trump is very important if you are to persuade and have influence over his judgments.”
Despite the pomp and flattery, no ‘break-through’ on Ukraine or tariffs
For Gaston, the visit brought tangible gains. She points to three key policy areas: financial services, nuclear energy and tech cooperation.
“Bringing together the City of London and New York as global financial centers, agreeing to streamline nuclear approvals and choosing to align with the US rather than Europe on technology, particularly AI and quantum, are all strategically significant,” she argued, adding that Britain is the only country Washington regards as a viable tech co-creation partner.
Starmer also kept Trump from open confrontation on tricky issues. Despite disagreeing with Britain’s plan to recognize a Palestinian state, Trump avoided a clash. On Ukraine, he underlined that Russian President Vladimir Putin had “let him down,” but offered no new commitments.
“Starmer doesn’t really seem to have persuaded him to start criticizing Putin,” Bale noted. “That’s not nothing, but it’s not a breakthrough either.”
For Bale, the biggest disappointment was tariffs.
“There was genuine hope Trump might follow through on a promise to reduce steel tariffs to zero. But that didn’t happen,” he explained. These tariffs remain at 25 percent.
Gaston acknowledged this was “a source of disappointment,” but noted that Britain still faces lower overall tariffs than many other allies.
What Europe can learn
The UK’s strategy was simple: flatter Trump, avoid conflict and secure alignment where possible. Should the rest of Europe follow suit? Bale is doubtful. “Flattery is the way to go if you don’t want him to criticize you publicly,” he said. “But whether you can actually move him to do anything beyond words is another matter.”
Gaston sees a different blueprint. “We’re in an era of the nation state, and Trump will intensify that shift,” she told DW.Britain, she argued, has been effective at exercising agency. Owen agreed, pointing to eight months of Starmer building up their “special relationship” despite personal and political divergences.
“Allies [like the UK] that are clear about their strengths and can add and amplify the America First agenda will find meaningful areas of cooperation,” Gaston said.
She also warned, however, that the challenge for the EU will be adapting to a world where policymaking is increasingly driven by flexible, ad hoc alliances rather than moving at the pace of the lowest common denominator.
In Brussels, the visit raises uneasy questions. EU leaders already fear that this second Trump term is weakening NATO and fractures transatlantic unity on Ukraine. A glossy “special relationship” may create the illusion of stability without changing Trump’s instincts.
“There is an extent to which most European leaders, like Starmer, are trying to hold Trump into the defence of Europe,” Bale argued. “But there is also a good deal of buying time.”
On one point, all three experts converge: The era when Europe could take US security guarantees for granted is over.
Can London be a bridge between the US and Europe?
For decades, London has cast itself as a bridge between Washington and Europe. After Brexit, that role is less clear. Bale underlined mainland Europe’s suspicion of how far Britain will go to keep Trump happy, for example with a more permissive attitude to tech firms. Gaston argued Britain may act as a gateway, but stressed the EU also needs to adapt.
“Brussels must be clear where it adds value.” On defense and industrial production, the EU is well placed to lead, but on advanced innovation, smaller groups of allies may move faster, she said.
One area where the UK and Europe remain firmly aligned is climate. King Charles delicately raised environmental concerns at the state banquet, in stark contrast to Trump’s fossil-fuel agenda.
“That is the one issue where it will be very difficult to get a cigarette paper between the UK and European countries,” Bale said.
Trump presidency ‘will be challenging’ for Europe
In the end, Britain’s gamble was modest: flatter Trump, avoid a blow-up and hope for the best.
“What we’ll see is the UK trying to keep this president as sweet as possible, while secretly hoping he’s replaced by someone more reliable,” Bale told DW.
Owen takes a different stance: “The remaining three more years of the Trump presidency will be challenging ones for European countries.” But he doesn’t believe in a shift back to a more traditional Biden-style president, even after Trump.
Gaston is more optimistic. “Britain has been able to secure cooperation in areas that align with Trump’s America First view of the world. That is a key achievement,” she said. “I would recommend other allies to think about how they can be really clear about their strengths and added value in this evironment.”
Trump enjoyed the red carpet, Starmer avoided a diplomatic misstep, and some cooperation was secured. But beyond the pomp, the visit was a reminder to Brussels and Europe at large: the days of relying on unconditional US backing are over. What comes next will depend less on pageantry, and more on Europe’s own agency and choices.
Birgit Maaß contributed reporting from the UK.
Edited by: Carla Bleiker
