Is Trump really going to level with the PM on what the US-Australia relationship looks like? If AUKUS was in trouble, there would have been no reason for the PM to announce, with a Trump meeting pending, a multibillion-dollar funding commitment of defence facilities to support AUKUS. For all the pomp and ceremony of the UK state visit, Starmer did not get any change to Trump’s tariffs. The deeper question in any meeting with Trump is how the president apprehends the entirety of the US alliance with Australia. Does Trump really intend to go further and treat Australia like he has treated Canada, South Korea and India?