Andy Burnham is set to meet Donald Trump for the first time since becoming prime minister.
BBC Breakfast paused for Trump alert and it could prove humiliating for Burnham (Image: Getty)
BBC Breakfast presenter Jon Kay addressed Andy Burnham’s first meeting with Donald Trump as world leaders gather in New York for talks on the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East and the rapid development of AI. But in a huge blow to the prime minister, the host addressed his comments about the US president when he was the mayor of Manchester. He also questioned whether Burnham is attempting to prove the UK’s relevance after Trump previously slammed the country’s military power.
Ahead of Tuesday’s meeting Burnham said he is “looking to find common ground” with the US president. In his first United Nations appearance as Prime Minister he is set to insist that Britain is not “on the slide”, using the stage to signal a fresh start following ten years of post-Brexit upheaval.
Jon commented: “If you don’t want to talk about Donald Trump‘s previous tweets lets talk about one of Andy Burnham’s previous tweets, when he said, ‘President Trump will not be welcome in Manchester.’
Today, he will invite President Trump to Manchester for the G20 Summit next year. Is that not hypocritical?”
President Trump will be meeting Andy Burnham for the first time (Image: Getty)
As mayor of Greater Manchester, Burnham said the US president would not be welcome in the city, blaming his “poisonous” politics. After winning his seat as an MP in Makerfield, he warned against the “divided, dark politics” of the US.
Labour’s Minister of Defence, Luke Pollard, suggested the United States and Britain have a close relationship, but did not directly address claims that Burnham’s move was hypocritical.
He went on: “Although, this is the first time the prime minister will be meeting the president in-person, it’s not his first conversation. They have spoken a number of times on the phone already. Issues of defence or security have been high up on the agenda for those conversations where the UK and US do share that common perspective.”
The Breakfast host also addressed the overnight announcement the UK will give support to Saudi Arabia to counter Houthi fighters.
BBC Breakfast host Jon Kay spoke to Luke Pollard (Image: BBC)
“The timing of that announcement, supporting Saudi Arabia, and the announcement overnight of UK military being involved in testing underwater drones,” Jon stated, “doesn’t it look a bit like Andy Burnham is trying to prove to President Trump ahead of their meeting that he’s relevant, that the UK is a relevant military power?”
The defence minister shut down the assumption that Trump believes the UK is irrelevant on the world stage.
He explained: “The UK and the US undertake a number of joint operations.”
Jon interjected: “You say that Trump recognises us as a military power. Only a few months ago, he talked about our broken down fleet. He described our aircraft carriers as toys. He said he wasn’t bothered if we backed him with Iran because we were kind of relevant.
Does he really respect us as a military power?”
Pollard replied: “The close cooperation we have with the United States is an important one. Every single domain, air, land and sea, space and cyber the UK and US work together in support of our collective national security and our objectives.”
He suggested the closeness between the nations is the envy of among other countries as he reaffirmed their friendship.
The Prime Minister’s visit to New York occurs ahead of a key period for his administration, which includes the Labour Party conference later this month, his government’s initial Budget in October, and the upcoming launch of a 10-year national strategy.