ReutersWhen it comes to personality and to politics, the differences between the prime minister and President Donald Trump are wider than the Atlantic Ocean.
But, whisper it: outwardly, in public and for now at least, the language and diplomacy used by the two of them about each other appears to be broadly conventional.
Sir Keir Starmer and Trump spent 45 minutes on the phone over the weekend, hours after the President had told the BBC the prime minister had done “a very good job so far”.
Trump acknowledged “he’s a liberal, which is a bit different from me,” adding “I may not agree with his philosophy, but I have a very good relationship with him“.
And if diplomacy is the art of finding shared interests and instincts, particularly if one or the other or both might be in short supply, the way Downing Street and the White House described this first conversation since the inauguration is a case study in just that: diplomacy.
Sources in London describe the call as “very warm” and “very personal”. It appears the big picture, and getting to know each other, was the aim, rather than policy detail.
It is, of course, on the policy detail that disagreements loiter.
But for now at least there appears to be an effort on both sides to establish a rapport and for each to size the other up – all ahead of a trip to Washington the prime minister is expected to make in the next handful of weeks.
It is convention when two international leaders speak for each side to issue what is known as a “read out” afterwards – how each side interpreted how the call went and what was discussed.
Downing StreetThese read outs tend to broadly overlap, otherwise it would appear each side was talking about a different call, but differences of emphasis and language are worth looking for.
As you would expect, they discussed the ceasefire in the Middle East and the release of the British-Israeli hostage Emily Damari.
Also, as you would expect, both sides mentioned the president’s love of the Royal Family, a vital and unique diplomatic lever the prime minister has at his disposal in the coming years of managing his relationship with the White House.
There was mention too of the president’s condolences to the prime minister over the recent death of his younger brother, Nick.
But two other sentences, one from each read out, struck me most.
First, a sentence from Downing Street.
A Downing Street spokesman said the two men “discussed trade and the economy, with the prime minister setting out how we are deregulating to boost growth”.
A counterintuitive thing for a left wing leader to say – talk of deregulation – but a magic word to use in the company of President Trump.
And it is a consistent thing for the prime minister to be saying: both he and Chancellor Rachel Reeves have been emphasising it in various guises over the last few days as they have really leant into their desire for economic growth.
We will hear more about it this week, including in a key speech from Reeves on Wednesday and various other announcements before and after that speech.
Second, a sentence from the White House.
A spokesman there said “the two leaders also discussed…how both countries can promote a fair bilateral economic relationship”.
No explicit mention of tariffs, or import taxes, but we know they are threatened by President Trump on America’s friends as well as foes.
But that sentence, with that reference to “fair” appears to be doing a lot of work to smile through what could be some bumpy conversations ahead.
Bumpy, though, is for another day, appears to be the vibe. For now at least.
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