News Beat
Starmer says he wouldn’t let someone talk to his daughter the way Trump spoke to reporter
Sir Keir Starmer has said he would not let someone talk to his daughter in the way US President Donald Trump spoke to a reporter.
Speaking on Loose Women, Myleene Klass said: “One of our closest allies, shall we say, recently used language ‘quiet piggy’.
“Would you allow for someone to speak to your daughter, your wife, your colleagues in the way that President Trump spoke to a female journalist?”
Sir Keir responded: “No, I wouldn’t, I absolutely wouldn’t, I would call it out. But I would also say part of the stuff we’re doing with teenagers is talking about behaviours they might not think are problematic but in fact are.”
The comment is a rare public criticism of the US president by the UK prime minister who has previously gone out of his way to avoid attacking Trump.
Trump had made the offensive remark on board Air Force One last month to reporter Catherine Lucey when she tried to ask him a question relating to Epstein before the US president started to wave a finger in her face.
The slapdown of the US president came as Sir Keir was launching his government’s new strategy on tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG) today, with £20m going to help teachers in all secondary schools in England dealing with misogyny and promoting healthy relationships.
The strategy specifically aims to take on toxic masculine role models and has named the misogynist social media influencer Andrew Tate, who has previously been praised by Nigel Farage and had discussions with Trump’s son Barron.
The prime minister, asked about his worst experiences, cited a moment that “really broke my heart” on the day of Labour’s election victory last year.
He said: “We had the exit poll… and it said, Labour’s got a landslide victory. I was with my team and my family. I jumped up and punched the air as I would if Arsenal had just scored a fantastic goal.
“And my little girl, then 13, burst into tears and was inconsolable. And that ripped through me, these two emotions, totally through my body.”
The one occasion Sir Keir has publicly chastised the US president was when he met him at his Turnberry golf resort in Scotland and defended London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan.
Previously, the White House has vigorously defended the US president over the “piggy” comment to the journalist.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said: “He calls out fake news when he sees it and gets frustrated with reporters who spread false information.”
