Trump's first comments on Andy Burnham spark political buzz

In his first public comments regarding the former Greater Manchester mayor, Donald Trump gave his verdict on Andy Burnham, labeling him “extremely liberal”, since he emerged as the frontrunner to replace Keir Starmer.

Speaking to reporters, Trump said that Burnham “probably won’t open up North Korea” for oil exploration, proposing that the newly chosen Labour MP could face a highly strained relationship with Trump.

Burnham has been crucial for Trump in the past, describing Americans core ideologies as “polarised” and “poisonous” while on the campaigning trail in Makerfield.

On Wednesday, Trump, on knowing about Burnham said: “I don’t know, I think I see that he was, I guess, the mayor of a town.”

“I hear he’s extremely liberal, extremely, so that means he probably won’t open up the North Sea.”

In the wake of Trump's election victory in November 2024, Keir Starmer has adopted a conciliatory approach with him and initially garnered commendation for his deft handling of the unpredictable president, but their relationship ultimately deteriorated over the Iran conflict.

Rutte is visiting Washington to try to reduce tensions over the Iran war and Trump’s threats to draw down troops in Europe ahead of a significant Nato leaders’ summit in July in Ankara.

During the meeting, Rutte used cardboard charts to show how much Nato countries have bolstered up their defence spending since Trump first took office in 2017.

“I know there ‌have been isolated cases about which you are really disappointed, but generally speaking your European allies have been there,” Rutte said.

As reported by the Guardian, Trump appeared to disagree with Rutte's assessment and said: “You really have done a good job, and I think if anybody else were in that position, we wouldn’t even be meeting today, to be honest with you, because we were let down.”