British Prime Minister Keir Starmer wanted to meet Kamala Harris and Donald Trump during his short visit to the United States, but their campaign plans disrupted that.
The prime minister is “happy to meet both candidates if the agendas align in the future,” a British official told DailyMail.com.
Starmer is eager to talk to President Joe Biden’s successor as questions arise over what the special relationship between the two countries will look like after the November election.
Harris is campaigning in Pennsylvania on Friday, while Starmer is expected to be at the White House to meet Biden. Trump is on the West Coast, fundraising in California and then holding a rally in Las Vegas.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer arrives in the United States
Starmer is on the ground in Washington for just 24 hours, returning to the UK on Friday evening.
He is expected to return to the US the week of September 23 for the annual United Nations General Assembly, better known as UNGA.
There is talk of a meeting between him and Harris during that trip, if the schedules match up with a quick side trip from Starmer to Washington DC
“There are currently no plans for the VP to travel to New York to participate in the UN General Assembly. As she has done in previous years, it is possible she will meet with foreign leaders in DC this week. We have no meetings to announce,” a Harris official told DailyMail.com.
Trump’s campaign did respond to a request for comment.
The former president met then-British Foreign Secretary David Cameron at Mar-a-Lago in April, but Cameron lost his position when conservatives lost power.
Starmer is pushing to improve relations with the United States amid growing uncertainty over the outcome of the November election, the fate of Ukraine and a ceasefire in the Middle East.
The United States plays a major role in both conflicts, but there is uncertainty about what Biden’s successor will do, as concerns grow in America about the amount of US dollars going to Ukraine and the treatment of Palestinians in Gaza.
His quick trip to Washington is his second meeting with Biden since becoming prime minister in July. He and Biden also met on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington this summer.
The meeting took place a week after Starmer’s election and two weeks before Biden withdrew from the presidential race.
Starmer asked for this second conversation with Biden to ensure the two countries are on the same page on a number of foreign policy issues, including Ukraine, the Middle East conflict, the Indo-Pacific and AUKUS.
Failure to stage a meeting with the next leader of the free world could be a setback to Starmer’s aims, but officials continue to push for meetings.
The US and UK have a special relationship that dates back to World War II. Biden and Starmer want to publicly recommit to that decades-long bond between their two nations.
Ideologically, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is closer to Kamala Harris
Donald Trump remains an unpredictable force when it comes to Ukraine and the Middle East
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Starmer is ideologically closer to Harris.
In fact, several advisers who helped Labour achieve a historic victory in the UK this summer came to the US to advise the Democratic candidate.
They urged Democrats to focus on winning back working-class voters, who had shifted to the right in recent years, Politico reported.
During their two-hour meeting with Biden and Starmer, the war in Ukraine is at the top of the agenda.
While Harris is expected to follow a similar path to Biden if she wins the November election, Trump remains an uncertain factor.
It is also uncertain how the former president will handle the war in the Middle East.