Burnham braces for first Trump meeting at UN as Downing Street tries to keep encounter short to avoid disaster
From the Newshound archive · first published 19 September 2026 · last updated 21 September 2026.
Andy Burnham (left) and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. Downing Street is keeping the PM's first face-to-face encounter with Donald Trump deliberately brief to limit the risk of a blowup at the UN General Assembly.Trump announced Friday that the US had secured "permanent control over security, and all other needs, in Greenland" — a framing both Copenhagen and Nuuk swiftly rejected.
Andy Burnham is to meet Donald Trump face-to-face for the first time on Tuesday at the UN General Assembly in New York, with Downing Street deliberately keeping the encounter brief to limit the risk of a blowup. The PM has sought to soften the ground by congratulating Trump on the Greenland security deal, passing praise to the president via Danish PM Mette Frederiksen. Justice minister Alex Davies-Jones insisted the two men will 'get on famously' despite Burnham's 2021 claim that any politician who gave Trump 'the time of day should be ashamed'.
Trump is expected to use his UN speech the same day to condemn allies who have failed to help with the Iran war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Labour chair Bridget Phillipson brushed off Burnham's past attacks on Trump as 'politics', saying it is 'no bar to having a strong relationship'.
Military insiders are pressing Burnham to commit to a clear timetable to reach 3.5% GDP defence spending by 2035 during the talks.
