In the Room With the President: Trump Praises Andy Burnham — Calls Chagos Deal "Terrible"

Reporter Chris Mason recounts an unusually candid face‑to‑face between US President Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham at the United Nations, describing a meeting that mixed warm compliments with pointed criticism over the Chagos islands arrangement.

Atmosphere And Access

I crouched between television cameras, angling for the president's eye so I could ask a question, while listening to a leader attempting to be magnanimous. Donald Trump can be acerbic, but he can also show warmth when he chooses. Beside him sat Andy Burnham, who had been a mayor only months earlier and now found himself next to the most powerful person in the world.

The original plan was to admit journalists at the start of the meeting, possibly just minutes after the two men first met. Instead, we were kept waiting while private talks took place. That delay had a silver lining: when the leaders emerged, they had more to say publicly about each other and the substance of their conversation.

A Question And A Compliment

Having secured a place in the president's line of sight, I waited until the last syllable of Burnham's opening remark and filled the brief silence with a question: with your political differences, is the prime minister someone you can do business with?

"I do, I think he's a natural business person. We've had a lot of discussions even before this meeting. We've spoken to each other numerous times on the phone. Yeah, I think so, I think so. He gets it. He understands what he has to do." — Donald Trump

The warmth was obvious, and any nerves in Downing Street may have eased after that exchange. But this is the president's theatre: he controls the tempo and can extend public remarks well beyond a few minutes.

Substance: Immigration, West Bank Sanctions And Chagos

The meeting took place on neutral ground — a windowless, nondescript room down a dingy corridor in the United Nations basement — rather than in the Oval Office, which perhaps muted the sense of occasion. Questions that might have sparked friction, including an immigration query, passed without incident.

During the session, Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband (who was present) announced UK sanctions on West Bank settlements — a move that provoked a furious response from Israel but did not derail the tone of the encounter.

The Chagos Islands: A Flashpoint

When the conversation turned to the Chagos islands, Trump was candidly critical of Britain's previous arrangement — ceding sovereignty to Mauritius while retaining a leased military base on Diego Garcia — calling it "terrible." He suggested the prime minister would be looking at the deal, to which Burnham replied, "yep."

Later, in a short broadcasters' interview, Burnham described the meeting as "very encouraging" and said "we've established a good connection." Pressed on whether the Chagos arrangement would change, he called it a deal he had "inherited" and added: "We've got to find a resolution, and so work will continue now…to see where that resolution might lead." That language signals the arrangement may be revisited.

What It Means Going Forward

Flashpoints with the president are almost inevitable; few leaders fully avoid them with this administration. Burnham may choose to press some issues and defer others, but he now has a face‑to‑face opening on which to build relations. The remainder of his UN meetings reverted to conventional diplomacy, a steadier rhythm after the unpredictability of the opening encounter with Trump.

Watch: Key moments from Andy Burnham's first UN speech

Related: UK announces sanctions on West Bank settlements prompting furious Israeli response