Donald Trump’s visit to Britain matters. Not for the pomp or pageantry. Not for nostalgia about the “special relationship”. And not for kowtowing to an unpredictable president who craves attention. It matters because America matters. Not a fleeting Oval Office handshake, but two full days with Trump and his team. A captive audience. An opportunity Britain must leverage to the maximum.
On so many levels, our world looks grim. Uncertainty. Volatility. Conflict. These are the words of the day. If our collective strategy is simply to manage events as they unfold, reacting to a changing world, isolating ourselves from multiple growing threats, then the agenda will be light.
But that is not the British way. Nor, since 1945, has it been the American way. Britain is unlikely to have another moment like this state visit: to warn a president of the precipice the West now stands on. Without America’s re-engagement, the dark chapter of instability we have entered will only get darker still.
The question is this: do we have the courage to use this time with a captured audience to call for greater statecraft from the leader of the West? Or do we dodge the elephants in the room, multiplying by the day, for fear of upsetting the status quo?
Britain has long earned the right to speak frankly to Washington. Our military reach, intelligence networks, and diplomatic weight give us credibility beyond our size. The “special relationship” has never just been about shared history or sentiment – it has been about candour in moments of crisis.
In that spirit, the visit’s agenda should not be limited to the good, but also the bad and the ugly.
On the good side, much has already been trailed. Announcements on new nuclear build and AI collaboration address two of the biggest elephants in the room: energy security and the race for quantum computing. That race will be won or lost in the next five years – with game-changing consequences for both economic power and national security.
Then comes the bad. When America and Europe are not on the same page. Tariff wars between allies weaken prosperity on both sides. And any trans-Atlantic division is opportunistically exploited. Nowhere is this clearer than in our support for Ukraine and our stance against Vladimir Putin. Europe has too often been forced to follow Trump’s lead in extending the red carpet to Moscow, under the illusion that he could be trusted. Britain must be blunt: Putin presents an existential threat to Europe that extends well beyond Ukraine.
Gaza should also be covered. Israel’s right to respond to those barbaric 7 October Hamas attacks is not a licence to use superior military might that’s without a political strategy. Or a disregard for collateral damage.
Finally, the ugly – defining the wider moment both internationally and domestically. Doubts over Nato’s durability cast a long shadow. Our international order is crumbling, leaving space for a China-led alternative to gather pace. But who is best placed to upgrade our global institutions, not least the UN and the World Trade Organisation? America, which led in crafting the rules, has now given up on both. Isolationism, protectionism, nationalism - these are not the answers. They compound the problem.
Meanwhile, political violence and disinformation spread across the Atlantic world. The killing of Charlie Kirk and the weekend's large-scale demonstrations here in Britain underline how fragile our political cohesion has become. The trajectory is clear: fragmentation and division, not consolidation and unity.
This visit is more than ceremony. It is a chance to speak plainly, to challenge assumptions, and to demand clarity from the leader of the West. Britain cannot blink. If we seize the opportunity, we can help steer America back toward global leadership and reinforce the foundations of the order that has kept us safe since 1945. If we shrink from that task, history will judge us as bystanders when resolve was needed most.
Tobias Ellwood is a former foreign minister
