\n<\/p>\n
Now it\u2019s Keir Starmer\u2019s turn.<\/p>\n
After President Emmanuel Macron of France navigated his meeting<\/a> with President Trump on Monday, skirting the rockiest shoals but making little headway, Mr. Starmer, the British prime minister, will meet Mr. Trump on Thursday to plead for the United States not to abandon Ukraine.<\/p>\n Mr. Starmer will face the same balancing act as Mr. Macron did, without the benefit of years of interactions dating to 2017, when Mr. Trump greeted the newly elected French president with a white-knuckle handshake that was the first of several memorable grip-and-grin moments.<\/p>\n Unlike Mr. Macron, Mr. Starmer will arrive in the Oval Office armed with a pledge to increase<\/a> his country\u2019s military spending to 2.5 percent of gross domestic product by 2027, and to 3 percent within a decade. That addresses one of Mr. Trump\u2019s core grievances: his contention that Europeans are free riders, sheltering under an American security umbrella.<\/p>\n To finance the rearming, Mr. Starmer will pare back Britain\u2019s overseas development aid, a move that echoes, on a more modest scale, Mr. Trump\u2019s dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development. Mr. Starmer\u2019s motive is budgetary not ideological \u2014 he says the cuts are regrettable \u2014 but Mr. Trump might approve.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n British officials said Mr. Starmer would combine his confidence-building gestures on defense with a strong show of support for President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine and a warning not to rush into a peace deal with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia that fails to establish security guarantees for Ukraine.<\/p>\n \u201cThe key thing is, we don\u2019t want to repeat the previous mistakes in dealing with Putin, in going for a truce or cease-fire that doesn\u2019t convert into a durable peace,\u201d said Peter Mandelson, who became Britain\u2019s ambassador<\/a> to Washington three weeks ago and has helped arrange the visit.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mr. Mandelson said Mr. Starmer had a different style from Mr. Macron, who called Mr. Trump \u201cDear Donald\u201d and tapped him on the knee, even as he corrected him on his claim that Ukraine would pay back Europe\u2019s aid. But Mr. Mandelson said his boss\u2019s less demonstrative approach would also be effective.<\/p>\n \u201cThe prime minister has his own personal relationship with President Trump that\u2019s been established over a series of phone calls and meetings,\u201d Mr. Mandelson said in an interview. \u201cKeir Starmer is a plainly spoken, straightforward guy who is perfectly capable of speaking truth unto power, and doing so respectfully, in a way that will enable the president to see what he and the U.S. gets out of any situation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Mr. Mandelson took note of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth\u2019s words of praise after Mr. Starmer announced the increased military spending. Mr. Hegseth called it a \u201cstrong step from an enduring partner.\u201d<\/p>\n