Was this merely a familiar defence of a US firm by Trump and a repetition of his pro-fossil fuel instincts? Or was it evidence of a greater willingness by the president-elect to intervene in an ally’s own domestic policies?
The main difference – four years on – is that Trump is no longer alone at the keyboard; his increasingly powerful fellow traveller, Elon Musk, is even more prolific, using his own platform, X, to attack the British government across the board. He has criticised its handling of last summer’s riots, the running of the economy and now especially its attitude towards child abuse scandals.
Musk has issued a torrent of tweets attacking Sir Keir Starmer personally, accusing the prime minister of not doing enough to prosecute child grooming gangs while he was the director of public prosecutions.
British politicians cannot stem these posts from across the Atlantic. But they can control their reaction. During Trump’s first term, governments – and news desks – learned to pause and take a moment before responding to – or reporting – the latest electronic missives from the White House.
Thus far the Conservatives have chosen to engage with and echo Musk’s agenda. The party leader, Kemi Badenoch, said a full national inquiry into organised grooming gangs was “long overdue”.
