'Sugar-filled White House trip gives Rishi Sunak a high as he escapes troubles'

09 June 2023 , 07:15

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Rishi Sunak poses with Washington Nationals mascot "Screech" prior to a Washington Nationals baseball game (Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

For a PM with a sweet tooth, the conveyor belt of sugar was exactly what he wanted to power him through his trip to Washington DC.

As Rishi Sunak retired to his bedroom at Blair House each night there was a treat waiting.

On the first night a box of four chocolates. A gigantic strawberry covered in chocolate on the second.

Downstairs in the residence that acts as the President’s Guest House, just across the street from the White House, a stock of sweets was constantly replenished.

The British delegation could help themselves to red, white and blue Presidential M&Ms.

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Rishi Sunak speaking to journalists on the way to Washington DC, including the Mirror's John Stevens (PA)

Or fresh cookies individually wrapped in packets finished with the Presidential Seal - enjoyed so much by Mr Sunak that he managed to polish off four shortly before his flight back to the UK.

After a miserable few months as he’s struggled to make much headway in his battles to lower inflation and stop the economy flatlining, it wasn’t just the generous dose of sugar giving him a high.

The razzmatazz of his first White House trip provided a welcome change from the troubles at home.

Thanks to a quick succession of global gatherings, it was the fourth time he’d met Joe Biden in four months.

Despite the big age gap - the PM is 43, while the President is 80 - the pair appear to have built a good rapport.

President Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak shake hands in the Oval Office of the White House (AP)

Mr Sunak appreciates the decades of knowledge and experience Mr Biden brings to their conversations about how to tackle international problems.

After chatting for almost 45 minutes one-on-one in the Oval Office, the President enjoyed giving the PM a tour, taking in parts of his residence away from the West Wing.

At a joint press conference they hailed their freshly signed Atlantic Declaration, a series of mini-deals that will boost economic links between the two countries - including by making it easier to trade the minerals used in the production of electric car batteries.

Yet the flimsy document falls far short of the free trade agreement the Tories promised would be struck by the end of last year.

Mr Sunak appeared frustrated as he was asked why he was ripping up yet another pledge from the party’s 2019 manifesto.

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But unless he gives voters the choice of whether or not they want to endorse his own plan for Government, the questions on whether he is delivering what they were sold will remain.

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John Stevens