Enda Brady: UK correspondent on Donald Trump's impending visit to the UK

US President Donald Trump is set to make his second state visit to the UK, and he's due to arrive in a matter of hours.

Trump is expected to visit Windsor Castle and Chequers, the Prime Minister’s country home.

UK correspondent Enda Brady says the pressures on for Starmer to secure a better trade deal.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
In the Brady, our UK correspondent is with us ello
Inda Heather.

Speaker 2 (00:04):
Great to speak to you again.

Speaker 1 (00:05):
So Trump's arriving at you tonight? Is he?

Speaker 2 (00:08):
He is? He will fly into London Stansted Airport in
about twelve hours time. And what we're seeing is an
unprecedented second state visit for a United States president. It's
never happened before, an unprecedented security operation. I think there
won't be a spare police officer in the country. I
think all leave within fifty miles of London will have

(00:28):
been canceled and a very very tight security operation. It
will be so a lot of it will focus around
Windsor Castle, and then he will be over at Checkers
as well, where the Prime Minister has a grace and
favor country mansion to entertain dignitaries from overseas. It's a huge,
huge week in more ways than one for Keir Starmer
and Donald Trump.

Speaker 1 (00:50):
Do you think it's going to go Okay?

Speaker 2 (00:53):
Look, there will be some protests, but I think as
vocal as they will be, they will be kept out
of sight and the people will be given space to protest.
But the news cameras, I think will be doing their
best to just focus on stuff that paints the UK
in a positive light. Britain needs this week to go well.
Britain needs trade deals with America, Britain needs friends right now,

(01:16):
and I think Starmer really needs this week to be
brilliant because he's had a rocky few weeks and months.
He's languishing in the polls. There's talk of replacing him
within Labor and that will only grow. So I think
what we're seeing this week will probably be Starmer at
his best doing the international stuff. But an awful lot

(01:36):
of people feel that the Prime Minister has taken his
eye off the ball domestically for some time.

Speaker 1 (01:40):
Yeah, but am I right in thinking he's still got
to be grulled today over the Mendelsohn affair.

Speaker 2 (01:46):
Yes, so three hours have been allocated this morning in
Parliament and he gave quite a feisty interview by Starmar
standards last night defending his own handling of everything and
the timing of everything and who knew what So for
anyone who hasn't all of this, Peter Mandelsson was the
UK ambassador to America last Wednesday Prime Minister's question, Starmer

(02:06):
defended him, even though there were question marks over his
long friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, and it became quickly clear
that that position was untenable because there were so many
emails got leaked to the media from Mandelsson writing to
Epstein after he had been convicted of abusing children, saying,
fight this, fight for an early release. We love you,

(02:29):
your friends love you, We'll stand by you. Cringey, cringey
stuff from Peter Mandelsson. And then within twenty four hours
Starmer had to come out and say he's gone. I've
had to get rid of him. So it's not a
good look for Starmer, and I think the whole accusation
that his critics make is that he's a flip flop
Prime Minister says one thing and then the next day
does something else. It just keeps playing out.

Speaker 1 (02:50):
Okay, now, why has Conor McGrigor pulled out.

Speaker 2 (02:53):
So he had no chance of ever becoming president of Ireland.
We will elect our next president for seven years on
October twenty fourth. It's kind of like a job nobody
wants at the moment. Not that many front runners or
big names have gone into the race, but McGregor has
made a big deal of going to America popping up
in the Oval Office on Saint Patrick's Day and channeling

(03:16):
all that Trump ergy and the friendships he's made in
the MAGA world, and he was painting himself out to
be the savior of Ireland. I don't quite know who
he's saving Ireland from. We're running a budget surplus of
nine billion. I mean, it's the money washing around Ireland
and government at the moment is insane. Compared to when
I was a kid growing up in the eighties, we

(03:36):
were on our knees. Our life in Ireland is pretty
pretty good right now, but McGregor riles up this far
right kind of fringe. I would say it's a percentage
of one percent in Ireland. But unfortunately he was never
going to get the support and he saw that and
he has pulled out. He couldn't get the county councils
to back him, or twenty elected representatives. And it's a

(03:57):
shame because I actually got asked if I'd run, and
I would liked nothing better than getting in the ring
with Connor McGregor. I just would have. I would have
eaten them alive, honestly.

Speaker 1 (04:06):
So why didn't you say yes?

Speaker 2 (04:10):
Because I'm forty nine and I've an awful lot more
to achieve seven years time might be a different story,
but watch this space hy good tip.

Speaker 1 (04:17):
Thank you very much into Indo Brady, UK correspondent. For
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