'Donald Trump is a formidable adversary for Andy Burnham - meeting may be tense'

Andy Burnham is facing his biggest test on the world stage yet - a high-stakes first meeting with Donald Trump. World leaders brace themselves to go toe to toe with the mercurial US President, with the spectre of his Oval Office meltdown at President Zelensky looming in the background. Nerves were high in No10 when Keir Starmer first made the trip last year, but his secret weapon - an offer of a second state visit - smoothed over tensions. Things are a little different this time. Trump is mired in his disastrous war with Iran, which is driving up prices in the US and damaging his popularity ahead of a tough set of midterms in November. But despite the problems piling up for the US President, he remains a formidable adversary. Trump is still fuming about Starmer’s refusal to allow the US to use UK air bases to bomb Iran. In recent weeks he has been lobbing diplomatic grenades at the UK over the Falkland islands and the unification of Ireland. Trump also has long-running complaints - particularly immigration and green energy - that he could raise, depending on how adversarial he is feeling. And there are tensions for both sides on defence spending, Iran and the UK’s decision to ban trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank. But Trump can be unpredictable, and these tensions may not translate to hostilities. Holding the meeting at the UN is less prestigious but more neutral territory than the Oval Office, where Trump can gang up on leaders with the world watching. Burnham and Trump’s early phone calls have been warm, according to No10 sources, and insiders are quietly hopeful that his personable style will win the US President over. He has been critical of Trump in the past, saying his “poisonous” politics would not be welcome in Manchester and politicians who engaged with him after the Capitol riots in 2021 should be ashamed. But Trump has previously brushed off this sort of criticism - as long as leaders are now prepared to kiss the ring. Burnham made it clear earlier this year that he isn’t planning to suck up to Trump. But he won’t go in all guns blazing either. The big challenge for the PM will be whether he can build a relationship where he can exert tangible influence on the US President. The economic hit to Britain from the Iran war is deepening, putting the squeeze on Chancellor John Healey’s Budget plans. Fears are mounting in Europe that Russia is plotting to test Nato and Ukraine is heading into another grim winter. The PM wants to focus on the domestic front but the actions of the man in the White House are his problem, whether he likes it or not.