Sir Keir Starmer has promised to publish a picture of the new Siberian kitten in Downing Street as he tried to avoid commenting on the “cats and dogs” row inspired by Donald Trump during the recent presidential debate.
The prime minister is heading to the White House for a key bilateral summit with Joe Biden on Ukraine and the Middle East but his trip was already overshadowed by the fallout from the US election.
The debate earlier this week saw the former president claim that migrants in Springfield, Ohio “are eating dogs, they’re eating cats, they’re eating the pets of the people who live there. This is happening in America”
The claim have been met with widespread ridicule sparking memes and videos of horrified dogs on social media. They have also been denied by the city manager of Springfield, Ohio where the allegations are said to have taken place.
Ironically, Trump was the only US president not to have a dog in the White House while Joe Biden has a German shepherd called Commander which has been accused of biting a security guard.
But with the election just weeks away, Sir Keir is keen to avoid any remarks which may insult one of the victors.
Already he is not meeting with vice president Kamala Harris, Trump’s opponent, because she will be campaigning in the swing states ahead of the vote in November.
Sir Keir called this “perfectly understandable”. But it also meant he avoided accusations of being seen to favour one candidate over another.
Asked if he caught the Harris/ Trump debate, Sir Keir said: “No. I have seen bits of clips of it. I didn’t see the whole thing.”
But he laughed when asked if he was worried about the safety of “the nation’s cats and dogs” in Britain with irregular migrants coming through Kent after crossing the Channel.
Referring to Prince, the new Siberian kitten to move into Downing Street, he said: “We’re adding to our cats.”
The prime minister said that the new kitten was “great” but has not met Larry the chief mouser yet “because Prince can’t go out, Prince is young, he’s fantastic though.”
But he announced: “There will be a picture in due course.”
Sir Keir’s trip to Washington DC with his foreign secretary David Lammy is to try to future proof protection from a possible Donald Trump victory.
Trump has made no secret of his desire to stop providing aid to Ukraine with many of his Republican supporters opposing support for President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The former president has also made a deal with former Democrat and Independent Robert F. Kennedy jr who is also vehemently opposed to support a “never ending war” in Ukraine.
The prime minister told journalists on the flight over that the plan was to put together a long term strategy which could take the support beyond November.
