CAM ON IN David Cameron flies to Florida to meet Donald Trump to whip up support for £50bn Ukraine aid
DAVID Cameron last night flew to Florida to meet Donald Trump.
The Foreign Secretary was due for talks with the Republican Presidential hopeful at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach.
He is the first senior Government member to visit Trump since he left the White House in 2021.
Lord Cameron is on a diplomatic tour of the US to whip up support for further funding for Ukraine despite Trump’s party blocking support in Congress.
But it could be an awkward meet and greet if the thin-skinned ex-President raises past comments by Lord Cameron.
As PM in 2016 he called Mr Trump “divisive, stupid and wrong”.And later in his memoirs he accused Trump of being “protectionist, xenophobic, misogynistic”.
Following his Florida visit, Lord Cameron will travel to Washington DC to meet leading Republicans holding up nearly £50billion in arms for struggling Ukraine.
He is set to lay it on thick, describing US support for Ukraine as the “keystone in the arch” of the fight for democracy.
Ahead of his trip, Lord Cameron said success for Kyiv in defeating Putin was vital for American and European security, as he urged lawmakers across the Atlantic to approve arms assistance urgently.He added: "The alternative would only encourage Putin in further attempts to redraw European borders by force, and would be heard clearly in Beijing, Tehran and North Korea.”
The Foreign Office said he would push for Ukraine to be given the resources needed to hold the line and go on the offensive in 2025.
Lord Cameron will meet Secretary of State Antony Blinken as well as Congressional leaders, whom he will urge to “change the narrative” on support for Kyiv.
He is expected to urge the Republican speaker of the House of Representatives Mike Johnson to stop his colleagues from continuing to block the support, defying opposition from hardliners aligned with Mr Trump.
Earlier this year, Lord Cameron warned Congress not to show the same weakness that was displayed against Hitler in the 1930s.
It prompted right-wing Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene to tell Lord Cameron to “kiss my ass” and “worry about his own country”.
Talks are also expected to cover the war between Israel and Gaza.
A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: "The Foreign Secretary is on his way to Washington DC, where he will hold discussions with US Secretary of State Blinken, other Biden administration figures and members of Congress.
"His talks will focus on a range of shared US-UK priorities, including securing international support for Ukraine and bringing stability to the Middle East.“Ahead of his visit to Washington, the Foreign Secretary will meet former President Trump in Florida today.
"It is standard practice for ministers to meet with opposition candidates as part of their routine international engagement.”
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