Burnham and Trump hold cordial first meeting in New York

British Prime Minister Andy Burnham and US President Donald Trump held their first in-person meeting on Tuesday in New York, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. Following their talks, the two leaders gave brief statements and took questions from reporters.

Trump was friendly and polite throughout the encounter. He said he expected Burnham to become a "great prime minister," noting he had "a lot of assets on his side," and pledged that the US would stand with him "all the way." Burnham thanked the president and spoke of their "good connection," saying the discussion had covered Ukraine, the Falkland Islands and trade issues.

Warm words on doing business

Asked whether he saw Burnham as someone he could do business with, Trump responded positively, calling him a "natural businessperson" — a description likely to raise eyebrows among some of the prime minister's domestic critics. Trump added that the two had already spoken by phone several times before the meeting and said Burnham "gets it" and "understands what he has to do."

Immigration handled diplomatically

On immigration, a sensitive issue on both sides of the Atlantic, Trump struck a notably diplomatic tone despite having previously criticised the UK's handling of the matter. Burnham acknowledged that immigration has become an increasingly prominent issue in British politics and said the UK continues working to curb migrant boat crossings from continental Europe, adding that crossings this summer were down roughly 50% compared with six years ago.

Trump closed the press conference with a comment on former Prime Minister Keir Starmer, saying relations with the UK were now "more up" under Burnham, while sharply criticising the Starmer government's Chagos Islands deal, which would hand sovereignty over the islands — home to the joint UK-US Diego Garcia military base — to Mauritius. Trump called the agreement "terrible."

Burnham, who took office in late July, appears to have laid solid groundwork for his relationship with Washington, with the meeting going smoothly despite the often unpredictable nature of Trump's public appearances.