Trump the deal-maker is taking advantage of Conservative Party chaos

Analysis: The president wishes to see a no-deal Brexit as that will put America in the box seat when it comes to negotiating a future trade arrangement with the UK

Trump hadn’t been in UK airspace for long when he called Labour’s London mayor, Sadiq Khan, a “stone cold loser”. Not unusual for a president who likes to verbally abuse his enemies, particularly given his long-running spat with Khan – but his bullishness, and the Conservative response, should still worry us.

In the same tweet the president called himself “by far the most important ally of the United Kingdom” and said that Khan had been “foolishly nasty” to him.

It is a sign of the confidence Trump has on these foreign trips, which are designed to stroke his ego and allow him to show his key supporters in the US he is the strong and connected leader they need.

Even ignoring Jeremy Hunt’s refusal to defend Khan – who called out Trump’s divisive language at the weekend – after meeting the president on the tarmac at Stansted, his entire tone was remarkably enthusiastic. Hunt said he told Trump the UK “would put on a great show” for him.

It is understandable given the current mess being made of Brexit that the UK would be desperate to stay in Washington’s good books. Ministers are hopeful of getting a comprehensive trade deal that may counteract some of the negatives of leaving the European Union. However, our leaders have to make sure they are robust in talks with Trump.

It is obvious the president wants a no-deal Brexit to bring a desperate Downing Street to the negotiating table in a position where it will have to agree to a deal on his terms. Whatever the diplomatic necessities of being nice to Trump, he is at his worst when his ego is at its most inflated: pandering too much to him will only lead to trouble.

Trump also has the advantage of arriving in the middle of a Conservative leadership campaign, with candidates falling over themselves to stand out. The Trump administration knows this, so there was no surprise when the US ambassador to the UK, Woody Johnson – in whose residence the president will be staying this week – indicated that the NHS, and issues like chlorinated chicken, must be on the table in any post-Brexit trade talks.

Theresa May, the prime minister until Friday, is a spent force, not even taking a one-to-one meeting with Trump on this trip. Woody Johnson raising those particularly hot-button issues has no doubt been timed to ensure the leadership candidates have to respond.

Trump’s political playbook is all about throwing ideas in the air and seeing what lands. His main weapon is making things part of the conversation. Once it has been verbalised – or tweeted – it is out there and can be brought to the negotiating table.

Matt Hancock, the health secretary (who is another leadership candidate), and Hunt have responded by saying that talk of privatisation of the NHS is off the table – but in Trump’s eyes, to give an issue airtime is to give it life.

When Trump and his advisers are calculating the mathematics of how to get what they want it is all about division

The same is true of food standards. The EU may be too big a bloc for Trump to take on, but if he gets the UK to agree to relax the rules about what goes into rearing chickens, that is a crack in the western European edifice that he could later take advantage of.

National security and the position given to Chinese technology company Huawei is another key issue.

May has seemingly been swayed by the UK having access to Beijing’s economic riches – but Washington sees them as a risk. Two more Tory leadership candidates, Sajid Javid and Esther McVey, have backed the US stance by saying they would not want the company involved in the UK’s technology networks – Trump will no doubt be pleased.

When Trump and his advisers are calculating the mathematics of how to get what they want, it is all about division. The more the president can sow the seeds of argument and dissent, the more it plays to his strengths of being able to shout louder than most.

The UK, and those seeking to take over Downing Street, need to be smarter when it comes to dealing with Donald Trump.