Trump’s $10bn attack on the BBC doesn’t have to make sense. In his absurd world, he has already won |
Love Actually may be a terrible movie, but it provides one speech that’s hard not to wish into reality this Christmas. Keir Starmer, the actual, nonfictional UK prime minister, needs to channel the one played by Hugh Grant – and stand up to an absurd US president now bullying the BBC with a $10bn lawsuit.
Just imagine for one moment that Starmer decided to make Donald Trump’s claim against the BBC the final straw for a special relationship that is increasingly special only in a bad way. That would not be outlandish, for not only has Trump taken aim against a British broadcaster, but earlier this week it seemed that his promise of an AI “prosperity deal” (bought, let’s not forget, with gurning invites to Windsor Castle) is set to evaporate. As the fictional Love Actually PM once said: “A friend who bullies us is no longer a friend … Since bullies only respond to strength, from now onward I will be prepared to be much stronger.”
Others see this for what it is. Starmer’s own health minister, Stephen Kinnock, as well as rivals such as Ed Davey, are already among those urging him to make a stand. But in their heart of hearts they must know that, here in the real world, the chances of Starmer calling Trump a bullying narcissist – who uses lawsuits and threats at a time when the BBC is already under immense pressure and now facing a charter review – and all to divert attention away from........