The summit could be awkward because some Starmer allies, including the new British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, criticized the Republican candidate in the past.
This week, Labour’s Immigration Minister Angela Eagle said the former president had emboldened British racists — earning a rebuke from the Trump campaign.
Less than two hours before meeting Trump, Starmer delivered what could be interpreted as a thinly veiled message to the Republican candidate, who has been critical of the U.N.
London fears that Trump could pull funding from the U.N. if he wins the presidential election.
“People talk about an age of polarization, impunity, instability and an unraveling of the U.N. charter. And I feel a sense of fatalism has taken hold,” Starmer told the General Assembly.
“But our task is to say no … This is the moment to reassert fundamental principles and our willingness to defend them. To recommit to the U.N., to internationalism, to the rule of law.”