A video of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's supposed "awkward exchange" with US President Donald Trump at the peace summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, has gone viral. Social media users are widely claiming the UK leader was intentionally "snubbed" after he was reportedly barred from speaking at the podium by the US President.
The incident occurred as world leaders stood behind U.S. President Trump during his address at the high-profile summit, which was convened to secure a peace deal in the Middle East.
The video shows President Trump calling out, "Where is the UK?" Starmer is seen raising his hand, and Trump then gestures for him to approach the speaker's podium.
However, after a brief handshake and a few inaudible words from Trump, as reported by the X account Clash Report reads as, "It’s nice that you are here."
Prime Minister Starmer was seen immediately returning to his position among the other dignitaries without addressing the audience. This abrupt dismissal has led many online to guess that Starmer was keen to speak but was intentionally prevented from doing so.
On social media, the perceived slight has been framed as a humiliation for the British Prime Minister, with some users even pointing out that Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni appeared "amused" by the brief exchange.
A user wrote, "Omg Meloni’s face when Starmer gets snubbed. Fighting to keep from laughing," while another wrote, "Meloni had to bite her lip to keep from laughing." [sic]
X users started dissecting the perceived decline of the "special relationship." One post lamented, "There was a time when Washington listened for London’s voice. Now the leader... gets summoned like a substitute and sent back to the bench."
Another user said Trump's actions were called "classic." A user replied that Trump "knew EXACTLY where Starmer was," adding, "you must now love him for the way he put Starmer back in his box."
The incident that occurred at a summit in Egypt was aimed at supporting the ceasefire reached in Gaza, ending the Israel-Hamas war, and developing a long-term vision to rebuild the devastated Palestinian territory.
More than 20 world leaders attended the summit, including King Abdullah of Jordan, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the French president and the British prime minister Starmer where he has said he will pledge 20 million British pounds ($27 million) to help provide water and sanitation for Gaza and that Britain will host a three-day conference on Gaza's reconstruction and recovery.
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