"Trump Steals Spotlight as Starmer Struggles in Lopsided Pairing | John Crace"

It had been an exceptional weekend. Two rounds of golf at his private course in Turnberry.

On Saturday, Donald Trump set a new record with a score of 18. A hole-in-one on every hole. Mainly because there were people positioned around the course to retrieve the ball and drop it into the cup. Then, on Sunday, he did even better. A score of 17. At the fourth hole, the ball landed in the cup, stayed for a moment, then flew out, sailing over the fairway and directly into the fifth hole. Even Scottie Scheffler would struggle to imagine such a shot.

So Trump was in high spirits as he waited for Keir Starmer and his wife, Victoria, to visit on Monday morning. The same couldn’t be said for the small group of British journalists who had been dispatched to the South Ayrshire course to cover the meeting.

Inside the games room where they were held, plates of sandwiches and biscuits were laid out—but not for them. Those were reserved for the American press. The British reporters had to bring their own lunches. Evidently, the so-called "special relationship" was still a work in progress.

Keir and Victoria arrived at the main entrance, where Trump greeted them, along with a bagpiper whose playing drowned out the first part of their exchange. Trump spoke at length. His mother was Scottish, he repeated several times, almost as if reminding himself. He then turned his focus to Victoria, calling her a highly regarded figure across the U.S. "I don't want to get in trouble," he added, "but she's a very—she's a great woman."

Victoria appeared slightly uneasy. While her husband might be skilled at managing Trump’s mannerisms, adept at flattery and deference, she wasn’t. She knew almost no one in the U.S. recognized her, and she preferred it that way. She tried to endure the moment, eager to step inside, away from the cameras.

But Trump had other plans, fielding question after question from the gathered reporters. The former president is like a late-night radio host—unable to bear silence, filling every pause with aimless, unfiltered thoughts. Saying whatever came to mind, craving attention. To him, he wasn’t just the most important person in his own life but the most important person on Earth. For someone so self-absorbed, this was the ultimate satisfaction: everyone had to listen.

Europe, he declared, was in trouble. A far cry from the Europe of a decade ago. Too many foreigners. He admitted he knew little about the small boat crossings but insisted the migrants were criminals. Starmer interjected to say he was very strict on irregular migration—though few were paying attention.