Andy Burnham twice refused to say whether he trusted Donald Trump in his first major television interview since becoming Prime Minister. He insisted he is prepared to call out the US president if needed to defend Britain's “national interest before anything else.”
Interview with BBC's Laura Kuenssberg
Speaking to the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg, the new PM said his first exchange with Trump was “good” and he found him to be “really warm.” But he refused to answer directly when asked if he would trust Trump. He said: “Well I've had one phone call. And I always treat people as I find them and it was a good exchange. I will judge as I find and I found him to be really warm on Monday, but obviously we will continue to build the relationship as we go forward.”
Pressed again on whether he can place his trust in Trump as a fellow leader, Burnham said: “It's a changing world isn't it, and you just obviously have to call things as they develop.” In the interview – due to be broadcast in full on Monday – he added: “I can't at any point say that I won't take a different opinion from him [Trump], that I will need to voice a different opinion that is right for Britain.”
Willing to Call Out Trump
When asked if he would call out the US president – if it was the right thing to do – Burnham responded “of course.” He stated: “You have to defend your own national interest before anything else. That's what you're required to do if you're to do this job properly.” Burnham also expressed “concern” about the US starting their war with Iran and added he “wouldn't hold back from saying what I think is right.”
Defence Spending and Election Promise
On defence matters, the PM did not reveal a date for defence spending to hit 3%. He highlighted the appointment of his Chancellor John Healey – previously Secretary of Defence under Starmer’s government. Burnham said: “I appointed my new chancellor very aware of what he had said about the critical importance of defence spending and the position that he had taken about that. The first challenge facing us both is to ensure that the defence investment plan is fully funded and that's the thing that's right in front of us and we need to work that through as we go towards the budget later this year.” When questioned again on commitments to increase defence spending to 3% of GDP, he stated: “We've got to work out the way of doing that.”
Burnham also explicitly dismissed the idea of an early general election before 2029. He said: “I'm going to rule it out... I don't think people want it.” The PM added he wanted to focus on “getting the country back where it should be.”
