The first day of President Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK ended with a banquet and a toast. Now, the two countries are getting down to business.
Trump ends UK trip with remarks on Gaza, TikTok and immigration
Trump ends UK visit with remarks on Gaza, TikTok, Putin and immigration, urging Starmer to adopt his border policies.
Concluding his three-day state visit to the United Kingdom, President Donald Trump faced pointed questions about developments at home despite his visit abroad.
Back in the U.S.A. while Trump had spent the week being feted by British royalty: ABC confirmed it indefinitely pulled comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show, the left mounted criticism over the Trump administration’s actions targeting speech, a looming possible government shutdown, and the ongoing controversy over Trump’s past ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Most of those items came up at Trump’s news conference with Keir Starmer at Chequers, the official country retreat of British prime ministers.
“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,” Trump said in his first public comments about Kimmel’s show being indefintely postponed.
ABC’s shakeup came amid pressure from Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr over comments Kimmel made regarding the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
The U.S. president had cheered ABC for “finally having the courage to do what had to be done” in a late-night Sept. 17 post on Truth Social that also called for NBC to cancel late-night shows of comedians Seth Myers and Jimmy Fallon. “Do it NBC!!!” Trump wrote.
The indefinite canceling of Kimmel’s show – combined with threats from the Trump officials to “go after” left-leaning organizations they say have incited violence – has alarmed Democrats and First Amendment advocates over free speech concerns in the wake of Kirk’s fatal shooting.
When Trump returns to the United States, he also faces a possible federal government shutdown on Oct. 1 if Congress does not pass legislation to fund the government. House Republicans proposed a stopgap funding bill to keep the government funded through Nov. 21, but Democrats are pushing policy demands such as extending healthcare subsidies that are set to expire.
Then there’s the Epstein controversy, which has followed Trump to England on his brief trip. As the president met with the royal family and Starmer, protesters gathered in parts of England to highlight his past friendship with Epstein. It comes as the Trump administration has refused to release all files in the government’s investigation into the disgraced financier and sex offender.
Trump says U.S. trying to ‘get back’ Bagram airbase in Afghanistan
President Donald Trump says the U.S. is trying regain control of Bagram airbase in Afghanistan.
The United States and its allies left the military base in July of 2021 ahead of the complete withdrawal of American troops from the country and the official end to the war in Afghanistan.
“We’re trying to get it back, by the way,” Trump said at the Chequers news conference in the U.K. “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.”
The Department of Defense directed an inquiry about the statement to the White House. – Francesca Chambers
What is an autopen?
President Trump was asked to provide an update on the investigation related to the use of an autopen by former President Joe Biden during a press conference with U.K. Prime Minister Kier Starmer on Sept. 18.
The Justice Department is examining pardons issued by Biden in the final days of his presidency, and a separate investigation by the House Oversight Committee into the former president’s cognitive health and use of autopen is also underway.
“It’s just gotten worse from their standpoint,” said Trump, adding that one person, in particular, was never told by Biden to use it.
“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,” said Trump, referring to the Dec.1 pardon of Hunter Biden, who had pleaded guilty to tax violations and was convicted on firearms-related charges.
Presidential use of the autopen has not been outlawed or ruled unconstitutional. And Trump himself has acknowledged allowing his staff to use it to sign letters on his behalf. – Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy
Trump dodges on UK ambassador firing over Epstein ties
The UK fired Peter Mandelson as its ambassador to the United States just ahead of the state visit over the diplomat’s defense of disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein in recently unearthed correspondence.
Asked if he feels any sympathy for him, Trump said he doesn’t know Mandelson, and the firing was “a choice” that Starmer made.
“What is your answer to that,” Trump asked his counterpart.
Starmer replied, “Well, I mean, it’s very straightforward. Some information came to light last week that wasn’t available when he was appointed, and I made a decision about that.
“Very clear,” Starmer said, as he pivoted to Russia.
A lewd birthday note that allegedly bears Trump’s signature, and he denies writing, was part of the records U.S. lawmakers obtained from Epstein’s estate. – Francesca Chambers
Trump says Kimmel should have been fired ‘a long time ago’
President Trump said Kimmel was fired over his “lack of talent,” pushing back at concerns about the state of free speech in the United States after ABC canceled the comedian’s late-night television show following pressure from the Federal Communications Commission.
“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,” Trump said in his first public comments about Kimmel’s show being indefinitely postponed.
“Jimmy Kimmel is not a talented person. He had very bad ratings, and they should have fired him a long time ago,” the president continued, adding: “You can call that free speech or not. He was fired for lack of talent.” – Joey Garrison
What 7 wars has Trump ended?
President Trump during the news conference again made the claim to have ended seven wars while in office.
Since January, the United States has been involved in five ceasefires or peace agreements, USA TODAY has reported. Those conflicts include: Armenia and Azerbaijan; the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda; Iran and Israel; India and Pakistan, and Cambodia and Thailand.
Trump also appears to be referring to two conflicts dating to his first term. Though Serbia and Kosovo agreed to economic normalization, no peace deal has been signed. There’s also Ethiopia and Egypt, which are not at war but have unresolved tense relations. – Zach Schermele
When will President Trump and Melania come home?
The president and first lady are set to depart from London around 5 p.m. local time on Sept. 18. They’re expected to arrive back in Washington at 8 pm ET. – Zach Schermele
Trump says he hopes to finalize TikTok deal on Friday to US investors
Trump said he hopes to finalize the sale of TikTok’s U.S. operations to a U.S. company when he speaks to Chinese Prime Minister Xi Jinping on Friday.
“It will be owned by all American investors. And you know, the best investors and very rich people and companies are going to be owning it,” Trump said. “Very legitimate companies.”
Trump earlier this week said he reached a preliminary TikTok deal.
U.S. officials have expressed concerns that TikTok poses a national security threat, believing ByteDance, TikTok’s parent company based in Beijing, is sharing U.S. user data with China. TikTok has repeatedly denied these claims. – Joey Garrison
Trump says Russia’s war on Ukraine ‘doesn’t affect’ the U.S.
Unless the fighting in Ukraine spreads beyond the eastern European country’s borders, President Trump says he does not believe Russia’s assault on the sovereign nation affects the United States.
“It doesn’t affect the United States…other than unless you end up in a world war over this thing, you could,” Trump said.
Trump said earlier in the news conference that Russian President Vladimir Putin had let him down and again claimed Putin wouldn’t have launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 had he been in office. – Francesca Chambers
Who is British Prime Minister Keir Starmer?
Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer, 63, was a lawyer before he became leader of the now-governing Labour Party in 2020. He is known for being temperamentally methodical, for his professionalism and for his grasp of policy detail. British media often describe him as a tad boring and colorless because he has a flat, nasal vocal delivery.
Starmer was awarded a knighthood in 2014 for his work as a human rights prosecutor, so he’s technically a “Sir” – Sir Keir Starmer. In that role, he worked on high-profile cases in Britain, including that of Stephen Lawrence, a Black teenager who was murdered in a racially motivated attack in London in 1993 while he was waiting for a bus.
Starmer was born Britain’s capital and often says he had a typically average upbringing in a lower-middle-class family. His father made tools and his mother was a nurse who developed a rare autoimmune condition when her son was 11 that led to her limbs being amputated.
Starmer is married and has two teenage children. He studied law, first at the University of Leeds, then the University of Oxford. He’s a fan of Arsenal, a Premier League soccer team. – Kim Hjelmgaard
Trump warns UK illegal migration ‘destroys countries from within’
Trump, standing alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the joint news conference, advised the United Kingdom to adopt his administration’s efforts to combat illegal immigration, warning that it “destroys countries from within.”
Trump recounted a conversation he had with Starmer on the matter.
“I think your situation is very similar,” Trump said in response to a question from a reporter. “You have people coming. 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.” – Joey Garrison
Melania Trump’s sartorial choices send fashionista tongues wagging
For her lavish banquet at Windsor Castle during her second U.K. state visit, first lady Melania Trump wore a bright yellow floor-length off-shoulder dress with a lilac belt designed by Carolina Herrera.
To some she looked resplendent, to others she recalled a banana. Some deemed it perfect, others thought it was too casual. Melania Trump paired the dress with long emerald earrings.
On Sept.18, as she toured the Royal Library at Windsor Castle with Queen Camilla, the first lady wore a caramel brown leather skirt suit by Louis Vuitton.
For her outing with Princess Catherine for a tour of Frogmore Gardens, the first lady wore a brown leather belted jacket by Ralph Lauren with cream ankle-length pants and ballet flats. – Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy
Trump on Gaza: ‘I want the hostages released now. Right now.’
Amid reports that the UK will soon recognize a Palestinian state, Trump once again urged Hamas to release their hostages in Gaza.
“Right now,” Trump said. “I want an end.”
He said he had a “disagreement” with the Starmer on Palestinian autonomy – “one of our few disagreements.”
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer sought to downplay the disagreement, saying the two long-time allies “absolutely agree on the need for peace and a roadmap” in Gaza because the situation is “intolerable” and humanitarian aid must be allowed in.- Zach Schermele and Francesca Chambers
Trump on Putin: ‘He’s really let me down’
President Donald Trump said he believed that Russia’s war on Ukraine would be the easiest global conflict for him to resolve because of his past relationship with Vladimir Putin.
“But he’s let me down. He’s really let me down,” Trump said of the Russian leader, who he met with last month in Alaska.
Trump said he’s still settle that war and the “complex” conflict between Israel and Hamas.
“It’s going to get done, and it will all get done right. And likewise, Russia and Ukraine, will get done,” Trump said. – Francesca Chambers
Trump: Charlie Kirk could have been president one day
Trump brought up the assassination last week of Charlie Kirk in his opening remarks at the joint press conference, saying the 31-year-old conservative activist was killed “for speaking his mind.”
“He was a great young man,” Trump said. “Incredible future. Some people said he might be president someday. I told him, I said, ‘Charlie, I think you have a shot someday of being president.’”
Trump thanked British citizens who have offered their condolences on Kirk’s death. Trump is set to attend Kirk’s memorial service in Arizona on Sunday. – Joey Garrison
‘Long journey together’: Starmer says UK to celebrate the USA’s 250th birthday
Starmer singled out next year’s 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States, when in 1776 the U.S. declared its independence from Great Britain.
“Mr. President, next year, we’ll celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States. We’ve come on a long journey together,” the prime minister said.
He touted the “partnership our two nations have built” over the past 250 years. “Time and time again, it is British and American men and women, side by side, changing the path of history,” Starmer added.
Trump has planned a yearlong celebration in 2026 marking the country’s 250th anniversary. – Joey Garrison
British PM hails ‘special relationship for a new era’ with US
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer kicked off the joint news conference with Trump, hailing a “special relationship for a new era” between the United States and Great Britain.
Starmer touted a new U.S-British agreement on investments in science and technology that Trump and Starmer signed earlier in the day.
“With the groundbreaking agreement that we’ve just signed this afternoon, we’re confirming our status as the first partners in science and technology, ready to define this century together,” Starmer said. – Joey Garrison
The first day of President Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK ended with a banquet and a toast to America’s prosperity. Now, the two countries are getting down to business.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is hosting Trump at his Chequers country estate for a private discussion, before they play up commercial investments from Fortune 500 companies at a business reception and take questions from the media at a joint news conference.
U.S. officials declined to say ahead of the meeting what Trump and Starmer would discuss but the leaders have exchanged views on the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine during previous talks. Starmer is helping to organize a coalition of nations to defend Ukraine against future Russian attacks while Trump takes the lead on peace negotiations.
The allied countries are at odds, however, over Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas. Starmer has said the UK will join France and other nations in recognizing a Palestinian state at a United Nations gathering next week, if Israel does agree to a ceasefire and improve humanitarian conditions. The United States has sharply criticized the underlying resolution and said it is hurting diplomatic efforts to end the war.
So far, Trump’s visit has been heavy on pagentry and light on policy, with a trade deal between the two countries already agreed upon. The two leaders were expected to sign agreements involving technology and nuclear partnerships.
The British government said the countries had agreed to a package of $341 billion in commercial investments that would lead to a combined 7,600 high-quality jobs markets. – Francesca Chambers
What is Chequers?
President Donald Trump is meeting with Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Chequers, a 1,500-acre, 16th-century manor house and estate about 30 miles northwest of London. Chequers is the official country retreat of British prime ministers – the Camp David of Britain if you like.
And like its American counterpart, Chequers has hosted many historic and famous meetings. During World War II, Winston Churchill conducted war-related business long into the night at Chequers, often punctuated by a movie or large dinner. Churchill was also at Chequers when he heard Japan’s navy had attacked the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor, bringing the United States into the war.
More recently, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Chequers. And in 2018, former Prime Minister Theresa May was at Chequers when she finalized her plan for Brexit – Britain’s exit from the European Union, though it was her successor, Boris Johnson, who got the plan approved by Britain’s Parliament.
Starmer will give Trump a tour of Churchill’s archive at Chequers, which is where he wrote and broadcast many of his wartime speeches. Historians say Churchhill composed many of them while propped up in bed or pacing the estate’s garden. – Kim Hjelmgaard
First Lady Melania Trump tours Royal Library and Frogmore Gardens
First lady Melania Trump began the second day of the U.K. visit with a tour of the Royal Library in Windsor with Queen Camilla.The library included a display table of miniature books made especially for the Queen Mary doll house. It included books such as “How Watson Learned the Trick” by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and “Winnie the Pooh” by A.A. Milne, both published in 1922.
The pair then met with six schoolchildren who were writing and drawing pictures of animals.
“You need to have very small writing to fit on a very small book,” the first lady told one child.After that, the first lady joined Princess Catherine for a tour of Frogmore Gardens and a visit with a Scouts division of “Squirrels” for children ages 4 to 6.The children sat at two activity tables putting ink on leaves and pressing them on paper.As she interacted with the children there, one child asked the first lady what her favorite bug was, she replied, “A ladybug.” – Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy
Trump’s accommodations were fit for a king: the president and first lady Melania Trump were overnight guests of King Charles and Queen Camilla at Windsor Castle.
The British royals held a lavish banquet for the Trumps attended by high-profile executives, including media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
In his remarks, Trump said he and King Charles shook “about 150 hands” before the dinner. The president called his unprecedented, second state visit “one of the highest honors of my life.”
Offering a toast to the Trumps, King Charles said it was a celebration of an “unparalleled partnership” between the two nations and wished “health, prosperity and happiness of the people of the United States of America.” – Francesca Chambers
CEOs from some of the nation’s top businesses are flocking to the United Kingdom for a roundtable and reception Starmer is putting on for Trump on the final day of his state visit.
The CEOs expected to attend ranged from tech leaders to money managers and includes Apple’s Tim Cook, NVIDIA’s Jensen Huang, Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, Citigroup’s Jane Fraser, BlackRock’s Larry Fink, OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Lockheed Martin’s Jim Taiclet, Nucor Steel’s Leon Topalian, Salesforce’s Marc Benioff and Bank of America’s Brian Moynihan, according to a list obtained by USA TODAY.
More than two dozen business leaders were expected to attend the reception at Chequers, according to a British government official familiar with the invitations.
Trump’s visit to the UK formally kicked off on Sept. 17 with a horse-drawn carriage ride to Windsor Castle and an audience with King Charles and Queen Camilla. – Francesca Chambers