Transcript: Trump, Starmer – Press Conference during US President’s UK State Visit

It’s a very good deal for both of us. He is a great negotiator who will extend our unparalleled security alliance into the realm of economic security for the first time, and I look forward to finalizing it very soon. We’ll have it done very quickly.

We have also just signed a historic technology prosperity deal, one of a kind, to ensure our countries lead the next great technological revolution side by side. In fact, we just left the business leaders, the biggest in the world. Some are in this room right now. And that was quite a meeting we had on business and trade and technology.

This trip has galvanized $350 billion in deals across many sectors, and we’re committed to ensuring that the UK has a secure and reliable supply of the best AI hardware and software on Earth. And we supply that, and we’ll make sure we supply it in quantity to the UK. We also are joining forces on quantum computing and nuclear power, a natural partnership for close allies.

US Economic Performance

The United States, as you probably have heard, is doing better than it has ever done in terms of business and investment. The stock market has hit a new high, as you know, and that’s for many, many days out of our fairly short eight months. And we seem to be hitting new highs, and I think we’re going to do much better even as time goes by. Jobs are at a record.

And most importantly, we have more than $17 trillion – $17 trillion – and this has been during an eight-month period being invested in the country, which is not only a record, but if you compare $17 trillion to the last year of the Biden administration, they did $250 billion. They didn’t do $1 trillion for the four-year period. We did $17 trillion of investment coming in. A lot of it’s because of tariffs, and a lot of it’s for a lot of other reasons. But there’s never been anything like it. It’s an economic superstar. It’s what’s become. It’s always mismanaged and badly handled for a long period of time, but it’s not badly handled anymore.

So that’s a record. And remember, that’s up until eight months. We have another few months to go, and that number is going to get significantly higher, especially if we win this curtain case that we’re waiting to hear. That will be something like the world has never seen.

Defense Commitments and International Conflicts

I want to congratulate the United Kingdom on making the vital commitment to spend 5 percent of GDP on defense at the NATO Summit this year. We’ve worked together very closely in so many ways.

I’m very honored to tell you that we’ve solved seven wars — seven wars. Wars that were unsolvable. Wars that couldn’t be negotiated or done. We’ve done — the U.S. has done seven of them. The one that I thought would be easiest would be because of my relationship with President Putin, but he’s let me down. He’s really let me down. It was going to be Russia and Ukraine, but we’ll see how that turns out.

But that turned out to be — I thought it might be among the easiest of the group, but we had settled just about every conflict. And as you know, we’re working very hard on Israel and Gaza. Oh, that’s happening over there. Complex, but it’s going to be — it’s going to get done. It’ll all get done right. And likewise, Russia and Ukraine will get done. But it’s — you never know in war. You know, war is a different thing. Things happen that are very opposite of what you thought.

You thought you were going to have an easy time or a hard time, and it turns out to be the reverse. As we saw in the unforgettable parade yesterday at Winter Castle, what a place it is the British Armed Forces carry on. One of the finest military traditions in the world. One of the greatest marching bands. One of the most magnificent sights I’ve seen.

I know that our service members look forward — and we do look so forward — to working even more closely with yours as you push toward that 5 percent goal. And I think, Mr. Prime Minister, you’re just about there. You’re going to be there very quickly, along with a lot of other great countries.

I want to thank NATO and our wonderful head of NATO — who’s really worked very hard, Mark — for the job they’ve done. As you know, NATO was at 2 percent GDP, and they didn’t pay it. Now they’re at 5 percent, and they pay it. And we appreciate that. And we’re sending a lot of weapons to NATO. NATO is paying for those weapons in full. But we’re sending them, and we’re doing a great job at getting them what they need.

And we appreciate the fact that they’re taking care of it, because the United States is into that war for $350 billion. And it’s just really very sad. It just got out of control. They didn’t know what they were doing.

But over the generations, British and American warriors have shed their blood side by side in defense of liberty and freedom. And that’s why it’s so imperative that the United States and the United Kingdom stand together for these fundamental rights and values of the English-speaking world. And we’ve always stood together, and we will continue to.

Tribute to Charlie Kirk

Just last week, a great American, Charlie Kirk, was heinously assassinated for speaking his mind. He was a great young man. Incredible future. Some people said he might be President someday. I told him. I said, “Charlie, I think you have a good shot someday at being President.” And he just wanted to take care of youth. He loved youth. He was — I’ve never seen anybody relate to youth like Charlie. And they related to him, and they’re devastated.

But I appreciate the many British citizens who have offered their condolences. And again, Charlie was a great person. We’ll be going out to a service on Sunday. I’ll be leaving with some of the people in this room just to celebrate Charlie and all that he’s done. It’s so incredible. Never seen anything like it.

But I hope that, together, our nations can lead a movement to defend the glorious traditions of freedom on both sides of the Atlantic. There could be no greater tribute to the immortal bonds of affection and loyalty that unite the British and the American people for all of time. We have a relationship like no other. It will always be that way. We will always be united. We’ll always be together.

And I just want to thank you, Mr. Prime Minister, for the great job I think you’re doing. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you.

Questions Begin

STARMER: Thank you very much, Mr. President. We’re going to take some questions. I’ll call two or three to start with, and then I’ll pass over to the President. I’ve got Chris Mason from the BBC first. Chris.

REPORTER: Thank you both. Chris Mason, BBC News. Mr. President, the U.K. is expected to recognize the Palestinian state in the coming days. Listen to what more can you say to them to tell them to stop, and why is the U.K.’s position on a Palestinian state, in your view, wrong? And to tell them to stop, and why is the U.K.’s position on a Palestinian state, in your view, wrong? And, Prime Minister, what will the recognition of a Palestinian state actually achieve? Is it not just gesture politics to appease people in your own party? Thank you both.

STARMER: Well, Chris, let me just start with that, because we discussed this, amongst other things. We had the best part of an hour, I think, upstairs earlier today, just one-to-one, going through a number of affairs, world affairs, in private. And we absolutely agree on the need for peace and a roadmap, because the situation in Gaza is intolerable. The hostages have been held for a very, very long time, and they must be freed. And we need aid to get into Gaza at speed.

And so it’s within that context of a plan for peace, which we’re working hard on, which not only did we discuss this morning, but our two teams have been working together on, that the question of recognition needs to be seen. And so it’s part of that overall package, which hopefully takes us from the appalling situation we’re in now to the outcome of a safe and secure Israel, which we do not have, and a viable Palestinian state. Thank you.

TRUMP: Well, simply, I want the hostages released now, right now, not one, two. We’ll give you three more tomorrow. And, you know, like it’s been. But we’re the ones that got all the hostages released. We got many, many. They came. Many came to the Oval Office, and I’ve heard stories like I’ve never thought even possible. There was no humanity, no anything. I said to them, I said, “Was there any warmth shown during this stay? Like, they offered you a little extra meal. They gave you a little smile, and they said, ‘Don’t worry, you’ll be okay.'”

And every one of them said not even a little bit. Amazing to think that during this stay, long stay in some cases. We had a man the other day, 451 days he was there. I always ask that question. And was there any warmth shown? Just a little word of, you know, encouragement. And the answer is every time, absolutely not. I’m shocked to hear it. Because in the worst cases, there’s always somebody that comes through.

We have to remember October 7th, one of the worst, most violent days in the history of the world. Not just there, the history of the world. And I got to see the tapes, and I wish I didn’t see them, actually. But I got to see them. And I want an end. I want the hostages released. And I think it’s going to be okay. But it has been a brutal period of time.

But this has been going on for a long time. This is not something that’s over the last year, two years. This has been for decades and decades. But we want it to end. We have to have the hostages back immediately. That’s what the people of Israel want. They want them back. And we want the fighting to stop. And it’s going to stop.

But a lot of bad things. You know, Hamas said that they’re going to put the hostages up as bait. They’re going to put the hostages in front of any attack. And that’s pretty brutal. We haven’t heard that one in a long time. So, we have to remember that. So, I have a disagreement with the Prime Minister on that score. Okay? One of our few disagreements, actually.

MODERATOR: Right. Can I take Jack from The Sun? Jack.

REPORTER: Thank you, Bob. Jack Alston from The Sun. Middle border. Meanwhile, illegal migration is at record levels in Britain. The Prime Minister is trying to tackle that. What advice would you give to the man standing next to you on trying to stop illegal migration in Britain?

And, Prime Minister, if I can just ask, the President is all about “drill, baby, drill” in terms of trying to secure American energy and cut bills for Americans. Meanwhile, you are turning Britain’s back on oil and gas in favour of renewable energies, such as wind turbines. Why do you think that you are right and he is wrong?

Trump on Immigration and Energy Policy

TRUMP: So, we had millions of people flowing in, totally unchecked, totally unvetted from the Biden administration. Twenty-five million, in my opinion, that would be about 25 million. They came from prisons. They came from mental institutions. They were gang members. They were drug dealers. They came from the Congo. They came from all parts of South America.

Think of it. Prisons from the Congo being released into the United States. Prisons opened up in Venezuela and many other countries pouring into the United States. And I couldn’t believe it. One of the reasons I decided to run. I decided to run because I don’t want to be controversial. But you see what’s happened and you see all the information that’s come out. We won in 2020 big. And I said, “Let’s run. We got to run.” Because I saw what was happening.

And the worst thing that I saw was all of these people. You know, we’ve already solved inflation. We solve prices. Oil is way down. Energy is way down the United States.

But what I saw happening with millions of people pouring into our country, I couldn’t stand to watch it. And we’ve done a great job. Nobody. If you’ve seen the last – I appreciate your question, by the way. Nobody. Absolutely zero. And I’m not even sure that’s possible. But it’s a very liberal group that come out with those statistics. The last three months, we had zero from millions of people a year ago. We had zero people enter our country illegally.

And we do have people coming in legally through a legal process and testing and lots of other things. I think it’s very important. And we speak about it. And I think your situation is very similar. You know, you have people coming in. And I told the prime minister I would stop it. And it doesn’t matter if you call out the military. It doesn’t matter what means you use. But it’s going to destroy. It destroys countries from within.

And we’re actually now removing a lot of the people that came into our country. It’s a very hard chore. It’s a very – we were given a very, very bad hand. Millions of people came in from prisons and mental institutions. We have to remove them. And we are removing them. We have no choice. And I feel very strongly about it. Thank you very much.

Returns and Deportation Arrangements

KEIR STARMER: Jack, let me just deal with the question of returns, because this is obviously an issue we’re taking incredibly seriously. We’ve struck a number of deals both on cooperation with other countries, because this is a problem right across Europe, to tackle the problem of actually breaking up the gangs that are running this trade.

We have had a record number of returns, over 35,000 now, since we came into office. That’s the highest number for the best part of 10 years. We struck the returns arrangement with France. And notwithstanding the challenges to that scheme, which you’ve seen in the last few days, a flight went off at 6:15 this morning, successfully returning someone under that scheme. So that is an important step forward.

Obviously, there’s no silver bullet here. There’s a range of things that need to be done. But given the challenges of returning people, it is important that we’re able to prove it can be done. It was done. It was done early this morning. So I can confirm that that flight went. It went successfully. And I’m pleased about that. Now we need to ramp that up at scale, which was always envisaged under the scheme. But it’s very important that we have been able to prove the proof of concept, if you like, that this can be done. And we’ll continue in that way.

Energy Policy and North Sea Resources

On the question of energy, firstly, let me be really clear that I am absolutely determined to ensure that the price and cost of energy comes down, so that bills come down both for individuals, for families, with their household bills, but also for business, because this is so important. The mix will include oil and gas for many years to come from the North Sea. We’ve been clear about that for some time. But we also need to mix that with renewables. And it’s the mix that’s really important. And the approach I’ve taken on this is the same approach that I take to many other things, a pragmatic approach. Thank you, Jack.

DONALD TRUMP: I would like to say that we inherited the worst inflation in the history of our country. We had inflation the likes of which we’ve really never seen. They say 48 years, and I’ll accept that, but I really don’t. We had the worst inflation in the history of our country. And we had an expression that I used a lot, “drill, baby, drill.” And as you know, we brought fuel way down. The price is way down.

And we don’t do wind because wind is a disaster. It’s a very expensive joke, frankly. And we got our energy prices way down. That brought the inflation way down. And now we have very little inflation, and we have a very, very strong economy. So that was very important. Drill, baby, drill.

You have a great asset here. We spoke about it. It’s called the North Sea. The North Sea oil is phenomenal. And I hope, because I love this country, you know, my mother was born in Scotland, and the Hebrides has thrown away. That’s serious, Scotland. We were talking about it. And I want this country to do well. And you have great assets that you’re going to start using, I believe, under this Prime Minister.

MODERATOR: Thank you. And I’ve got Matthew from the Economist. Matthew.

MATTHEW: Thank you, Prime Minister. Mr. President, you say that next steps to compel an end to this war.

TRUMP: Well, he has let me down. I mean, he’s killing many people, and he’s losing more people than he’s, you know, than he’s killing. I mean, frankly, the Russian soldiers are being killed at a higher rate than the Ukrainian soldiers. I mean, frankly, the Russian soldiers are being killed at a higher rate than the Ukrainian soldiers.

But, yeah, he’s let me down. I don’t like to say it’s death. You know, it doesn’t affect the United States. We have, other than unless you end up in a world war over this thing, you could. This was the thing that would have never happened had I been president. If I were president, it would have never happened. And it didn’t happen for four years. People, most people agree it didn’t happen, nor was it close to happening.

And I spoke to President Putin about Ukraine. It was the apple of his eye. I’ve said that many times. It was. But he would have never done what he did, except that he didn’t respect the leadership of the United States. They just went through the Afghanistan total disaster for no reason whatsoever. We’re going to leave Afghanistan, but we’re going to leave it with strength and dignity. And we’re going to keep Bagram, the big airbase, that one of the biggest airbases in the world. We gave it to him for nothing. We’re trying to get it back, by the way. Okay, that could be a little breaking news. We’re trying to get it back because they need things from us. We want that base back.

But one of the reasons we want the base is, as you know, it’s an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons. So a lot of things are happening. But I am very disappointed in the fact that that one’s not settled.

Previous Diplomatic Successes

To think that we settled Albania, as an example, it was going on for years. It was never going to be settled. If you remember the prime minister and the presidents, they were there for many years. They said when they were in my office, we settled. And they started off at both sides of the Oval Office, so far away. I didn’t know you could be so far away. And as we were together for an hour, they kept getting closer and closer. And by the time we finished, we all hugged each other.

And one said, “I was I’ve been in this position for 22 years, and all I’ve done is kill their people.” The other was there for seven years, and all he did was kill their people. And we got it settled. And we did others, as you know. Congo, the Congo, we did. We settled the Congo with Rwanda. That was going on, and that was the machete war. That was a gruesome war. Many people, close to 10 million people killed. We got that.

So my biggest disappointment, but it’s you know, look, we did seven, and most of them were not thought to be settlable. We did India, and we did Pakistan. That’s two nuclear. That was purely for trade. “You want to trade with us, you’re going to have to get along.” And they were going at it hot and heavy.

Hope for Resolution

But the Russia situation, I hope we’re going to have some good news for you coming up. But again, it doesn’t affect the United States. And he look, it doesn’t so much affect you. Of course, you are a lot closer to the scene than we are. We have a whole ocean separating us. But I will say this. It’s millions of people have died in that war. Millions of souls. And they’re not American. They’re soldiers, mostly soldiers, as you know. The soldiers are being killed at levels nobody’s seen since the Second World War. But they’re being killed, and I feel I have an obligation to get it settled for that reason. Thank you.

STARMER: And just to add on that question, because we have to put extra pressure on Putin. And it’s only when the President has put pressure on Putin that he’s actually shown any inclination to move. So we have to ramp that pressure up.

I think it’s important to have this conversation in the context of what’s happened in recent weeks. We saw damage and bombing to the British Council in Cairo. These are targets that it was thought until recently were not targets that would be hit. The British Council, the European Union Embassy, the Council of Ministers, where President Zelensky’s ministers’ work was hit. Again, these were thought to be places that wouldn’t be hit.

And then the incursion into Poland last week. And if you put that together, what you can see is either an emboldening or at least an increased recklessness on Putin’s part. And that’s why I said earlier that they’re not the actions of someone who wants peace. So we have to ramp up.

And we discussed earlier today, we have built the coalition of the willing with British leadership and French leadership, stepping up with military planning in the seas, in the sky, on the ground, and ramping up what we do with the Ukrainians themselves. And of course, that taken with an American guarantee is now an example, I think, of the challenge of Europe stepping up to the plate, which it has done in the last few months, to show, through what we and the French have done, that we’re prepared to take the lead in this and take the necessary measures.

TRUMP: But that’s a war that could have been a Third World War, and I don’t think we’re going to be there now. But that was heading to a Third World War, and what a shame it is. What a shame it is. Mr. Pritchett, do you want to call some of them? I would love to call a few of them. Bev, do you want to have a question? I’m going to turn to GB News.

REPORTER: Thank you. Having been in D.C. for a few weeks, it’s really interesting to see how you run the country as a proud Christian leader. And it really begs the question to the Prime Minister, if you don’t mind, are we still a Christian country? But also…

TRUMP: When you say we, are you talking here or…?

REPORTER: Here. Here? I’m still British. I might live in America, I’m still British.

TRUMP: I’d rather have him answer this question. I can’t give you that answer.

REPORTER: But also, despite what we talked about in Scotland a few weeks ago, we still have 12,000 people a year here being arrested for social media posts, for free speech violations. Does that not remain an important area that there is still a lot of disagreement on? I’d like to have you answer that.

Starmer on Christian Values and Free Speech Protections

STARMER: Yeah, look, I mean, in terms of a Christian country, I was Christian, so that is… My church has been all my life. We are… That is wired into our informal constitution. Of course we celebrate many other faiths as well, and I’m really proud that we’re able to do so as a country.

And on free speech, that has long lived in this country, free speech. It’s one of the founding values of the United Kingdom, and we protect it jealously and fiercely, and always will, and we will bear down on any limits on free speech.

I draw a limit between free speech and the speech of those that want to peddle pedophilia and suicide social media to children. And therefore, I’m all for free speech. I’m also for protecting children from things that will harm them, pedophiles, those that peddle suicide, which have a terrible consequence for individuals, particularly teenagers. And so that’s the balance we strike. But we have had freedom of speech in this country for a very long time, and we will always protect it.

REPORTER: Two questions. One, just recently, President Trump labelled Antifa domestic terrorists. Would you consider doing something like that in your country?

STARMER: Well, we obviously will take decisions for ourselves. I don’t want to comment on the decisions of the President, but we take our decisions ourselves.

REPORTER: And my question to you, President Trump, is there any update on the auto pen?

Trump on Auto Pen Investigation and Biden Administration

TRUMP: Yeah. It’s just gotten worse from their standpoint. The people that used it, in particular one person, was never told by Biden to do it. Only spoke to Biden twice, and that was just talking about the weather, not talking about any order. And he was taking orders from people other than Joe Biden. Joe Biden wasn’t giving those orders.

You know, Joe Biden didn’t believe in open borders. He didn’t. I’ve known him for a long time. He was never the brightest bulb in the ceiling, as we know. You can go back 40 years ago, and you’ll see that. Go back and take a look at the hearings on Justice Thomas, and you’ll see that very much.

But he didn’t believe in open borders and all of this nonsense that they’re peddling now, which is why they’re not in office any longer. It’s a shame. The auto pen was illegal. It was illegally used. He never gave the orders.

He never told them what to do. And I guess the only one he signed, or one of the few he signed, was the pardon for his son. But you had the congressmen who, when they got the information, they found out they were guilty, and they deleted and destroyed all information, everything. You couldn’t get any of it.

They found out that Nancy Pelosi actually was offered the 10,000 soldiers, and she turned them down. They found out many things that were very bad. So they deleted and destroyed all information. You talk about freedom of the press and freedom of speech. How about that one? And there’s not a thing. This is after a year and a half of hearings. They destroyed everything. And somebody’s got to be held responsible.

So Biden, what he did is they knew. I don’t think he knew, but somebody knew. I don’t think Biden had a clue about anything, if you want to know the truth. But they gave a pardon to those congresspeople. They gave a pardon. Those people are still guilty. They gave a pardon. But Biden didn’t know about it.

The people, whether it’s Lisa or any of those people in there that really ran it, I know them all. And they’re sick people. They’re smart people. They’re very smart. They’re probably brilliant, but they’re sick in ideology. And they were running the Otto Pen. And it was totally illegal what he did. And I hope it’s going to be so adjudged.

MODERATOR: If you want to take one more, then I’ll go to the British. Let’s see. Peter, go ahead.

REPORTER: Thank you, President Trump. In the deal that you’re working on for the Chinese to sell TikTok to an American buyer, are the Americans going to have to come up with their own algorithm? Or are they going to continue to use the successful but addictive Chinese algorithm?

Trump Discusses TikTok Deal and Chinese Algorithm

TRUMP: So what we’re doing, and we’re speaking to President Xi on Friday to see if we can finalize something on TikTok because there is tremendous value, and I hate to give away value, but I like TikTok. It helped get me elected. In fact, Charlie said, “Sir, you ought to get on TikTok. You’d be great.” I said, “Really? Tell me about TikTok.”

And we, as you know, we did unbelievably well with you, like at a level that no Republican has ever even dreamt of. And, you know, look, I think we won it for a lot of reasons, but that was a reason we won the election by such a big number.

TikTok has tremendous value. The United States has that value in its hand because we’re the ones that have to approve it. I specifically get the right to approve it. The people that are investing in it are among the greatest investors in the world, the biggest, the richest, and they’ll do a great job. And we’re doing it in conjunction with China.

But we are getting — the United States is getting a tremendous fee-plus. I call it a fee-plus for just making the deal. And I don’t want to throw that out the window. I can say this, that you’ll have a lot of very unhappy youth.

And I use TikTok very legitimately, very straight — just statements. Every day, I do a little statement, short statements. “Sir, make it short, please.” And TikTok Jack, we call him. It was pretty good. Did a good job for me, I guess.

But, no, I’d rather reap the benefits. The deal that we’re talking about is very substantial. And it’ll be owned by all American investors and, you know, the best investors. And the, you know, very rich people and companies are going to be owning it. Very straight, very legitimate companies. And, really, companies that love America. So they’re going to be owning it. It’s a big thing.

And on a much bigger scale — and probably that’s why we were able to get that. But on a much bigger scale, we’re pretty close to a deal. And it’s an extension based on the same terms that we have right now, which are pretty good terms.

REPORTER: And my question for Prime Minister Starmer. If you feel so strongly about officially recognizing Palestine for statehood, why are you waiting for President Trump to leave the country? Why can’t you just do it right now? And isn’t there a risk in rewarding Hamas with that?

Starmer Responds on Palestine and Hamas

STARMER: Well, let me be really clear about Hamas. They’re a terrorist organization who can have no part in any future governance in Palestine. And what happened on October 7th was the worst attack since the Holocaust. We have extended family in Israel. I understand first-hand the psychological impact that that had across Israel.

So I know exactly where I stand in relation to Hamas. Hamas, of course, don’t want a two-state solution. They don’t want peace. They don’t want a ceasefire. I’m very clear where I stand on Hamas. On the question of recognition, I made my position clear at the end of July as to the timing, which has got nothing to do with this state visit, and I’ve discussed it with the President, as you would expect amongst two leaders who respect each other and like each other and want to bring about a better solution in the best way that we can.

MODERATOR: Thank you so much. Can I go back then to Robert I.T.B. Robert Preston, I.T.B.

REPORTER: Mr. President, you uniquely, you alone in the whole world, have the power to persuade Prime Minister Netanyahu to stop the demolition of Gaza City, to stop the starvation of Palestine, and to stop the killing of civilians. If not now, when will you exercise that power to tell him to stop? And then for both of you all…

TRUMP: But you do understand about October 7th. You do understand. One of the worst days in history of humanity, what happened, I have seen the tapes. Babies that are four months old and just chopped up to pieces. You’ve seen the tapes and I’ve seen the tapes. You’re a professional and so am I. And people forget about October 7th. I can’t forget about it. So I want it to end, but I want the hostages back. I don’t want the hostages used as human shields, which is what Hamas is threatening to do.

REPORTER: But as soon as they’re back, that’s the moment you will tell Netanyahu to stop.

TRUMP: It would certainly help, but I have to have the hostages back. And I don’t want them back piecemeal, as I said before. I want them back.

REPORTER: And on a separate issue, free speech. Your vice president, Vance, said that free speech is under attack in the UK. Do you agree with him? And Prime Minister, we saw the dismissal of a very well-known chat show host in America last night, Mr. Kimmel. Is free speech more under attack in Britain or America?

Discussion on Free Speech and Media

TRUMP: Well, Jimmy Kimmel was fired because he had bad ratings more than anything else. And he said a horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk. And Jimmy Kimmel is not a talented person. He had very bad ratings and they should have fired him a long time ago. So, you know, you can call that free speech or not. He was fired for lack of talent.

STARMER: Yeah, I mean, firstly, on the question of Charlie Kirk, can I just express how shocking that is, I think, to everybody who believes in free speech and in democracy. And it sent shockwaves through the world. And I know that he was a friend of the president. And I reached out straight away to the president because I understood how impactful it would be on him and his family. And we all need to be absolutely clear about that. Whatever our political views, it is shocking and is to be condemned.

On free speech, not much to add to the answer I gave earlier. This country has had free speech for a very, very long time. It is part of who we are as a country. And it is the values that we fought for. We fought for it during the Second World War alongside each other. So, we need no reminding of the importance of free speech in this country.

MODERATOR: Thank you, Robert. And I go to Beth for the final question, please. Beth.

Final Questions on Russia and Ukraine

REPORTER: Thank you, Prime Minister. If I could start with you. Prime Minister, President Trump has said he’s ready to impose Moses sanctions on Russia. Is that what you now believe is needed to bring Putin properly to the table? And what’s your message to the president on US sanctions? And Mr. President, if I may, the UK, the king praised your personal commitment last, Mr. President, if I may, the UK, the king praised your personal commitment last night to finding solutions to the world’s most intractable conflicts. You have invested much of your time and effort in Ukraine. But even as you seek to broker a deal, President Putin is escalating the war. He’s firing drones into NATO airspace. You say he has let you down. Was it a mistake to invite him to Alaska? Do you regret it? And is it time to squeeze him, sir, and scare him and impose sanctions?

Ambassador Question and Energy Dependency Discussion

REPORTER: And finally, if I may, the elephant in the room, Lord Mandelson, he is no longer the ambassador. Do you have some sympathy with him that he lost his job over historic links to Jeffrey Epstein? Thank you.

TRUMP: I don’t know him. Actually, I had heard that. And I think maybe the prime minister would be better speaking of that. That was a choice that he made. And I don’t know. What is your answer to that?

STARMER: Well, I mean, it’s very straightforward. Some information came to light last week, which wasn’t available when he was appointed. And I made a decision about it. And that’s very clear.

European Energy Dependence on Russia

STARMER: On the question of the pressure on Putin and on Russia, which is obviously really important. Look, I think it is a challenge to Europe. There are a number of European countries which are too reliant on energy from Russia. The UK actually, obviously, has almost got nothing at all. But we do need to bear down and work with our European counterparts here. There are one or two countries, I think, that do need to look again at the question of energy.

There’s no one silver bullet here. We do have to have a wider suite of sanctions, which we’ve put in place a number of times. Working across Europe and with the United States. And, of course, we must, and we are, making sure that Ukraine is in the strongest position now.

Because one of my long concerns here has been that whilst we talk about a ceasefire, and we all want a ceasefire, and we talk about what might happen after a ceasefire, we mustn’t forget that Ukraine needs our support now. And we’ve said we stand with Ukraine from the start to finish. And that means we must continue to supply them with what they need in order to fight this war, which, of course, resulted from, and is a result of, Russian aggression.

We have particularly done the sort of leadership role in the coalition of the willing, so that if there is a ceasefire, and if there is a deal, and I do hope there is, that it’s then lasting and not then broken. Because given previous history, I don’t trust Putin.

Trump’s Strategy on Oil Prices and Russia

TRUMP: Thank you. Simply, if the price of oil comes down, Putin’s going to drop out. He’s going to have no choice. He’s going to drop out of that war. And when I found out that the European nations were buying oil from Russia, and as you know, I’m very close to India. I’m very close to the Prime Minister of India. I spoke to him the other day, wished him a happy birthday. We have a very good relationship. He put out a beautiful statement, too.

We have — but I said, you know, I sanctioned them. China’s paying a very large tariff right now to the United States. But I’m willing to do other things, but not when the people that I’m fighting for are buying oil from Russia. If the oil price comes down, very simply, Russia will settle. And the oil price is way down. You know, we got it way down. We’re drilling and we produce more oil than anybody else in the world. We’re doing a lot.

But I was disappointed to see that. And the Prime Minister was disappointed to see that. And it wasn’t him. It was other countries. And you can’t do that. You can’t do that. You can’t. That’s not — that’s not playing fair with the United States. And we can’t have that.

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