British Foreign Secretary David Cameron meets with Trump ahead of DC visit
By Kaitlan Collins, CNN
(CNN) — British Foreign Secretary David Cameron met with Donald Trump at the former president’s Mar-a-Lago club on Monday night, two people familiar with the visit told CNN.
Cameron’s trip to South Florida came as the former prime minister is set to travel to Washington to meet with Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week. A spokesperson for the British government called it “standard practice” for engagement between ministers and opposition candidates of partner nations.
The pair discussed NATO defense spending, upcoming US and UK elections, Brexit and “ending the killing in Ukraine,” during their dinner together, according to a readout from the Trump campaign.
Karen Pierce, the British ambassador to the United States, was also present for the dinner.
Cameron has previously urged US lawmakers to pass additional aid to Ukraine, calling America “the lynchpin” of the Western coalition backing Ukraine’s fight against Russia. His visit with the former president comes as attempts at passing Ukraine aid in Congress languish with House Speaker Mike Johnson so far refusing to hold a vote — and with Trump helping to tank past attempts at a bipartisan solution.
The foreign secretary of one of America’s closest allies, Cameron served as prime minister from 2010 to 2016, stepping down before Trump assumed the presidency the following year. Should the former president win the November election, Cameron would likely miss a second Trump administration. Cameron’s governing Conservative Party is falling dramatically in popularity compared with the opposing Labour Party ahead of a general election set to take place by the end of the year.
Cameron’s trip, the British government spokesperson said, is focused on “a range of shared US-UK priorities, including securing international support for Ukraine and bringing stability to the Middle East.”
Trump and Cameron have both in recent days criticized Israel’s handling of its war in Gaza. Cameron said in a Sunday Times op-ed that the UK’s backing for Israel is “not unconditional,” adding that Israel “must abide” by humanitarian laws in Gaza. Trump last week said Israel needs to “finish what they started” and “get it over with fast.” He argued Israel was “losing the PR war” because of the visuals coming out of Gaza, where more than 33,000 people, including thousands of children, have been killed since October 7, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
CNN’s Jack Forrest, Alayna Treene, Kate Sullivan and Rob Picheta contributed to this report.
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