Report

Advancing the US-UK ‘special relationship’ during the second Trump presidency

This report from UK think tank the Henry Jackson Society discusses advancing the US-UK ‘special relationship’ during the second Trump term.

The re-election of President Donald J. Trump, supported by a unified Republican Congress, signals a decisive shift in US foreign policy toward a more consolidated, ideology-driven approach under the “America First” doctrine.

For the United Kingdom, this translates into an era of reduced bipartisan friction in US policymaking but also heightened demands for alignment with Trump’s nationalist priorities. The absence of a divided US Government will likely result in a more cohesive but unilateral American foreign policy, accelerating shifts on trade, security and multilateral alliances. For the UK, the opportunity lies in rapid policy alignment to secure privileged access within a streamlined US foreign agenda; the risk lies in diverging on key issues such as China, defence spending and trade tariffs.

The core problem: navigating divergent priorities in a shifting ‘special relationship’. Under Trump’s second term, the US–UK ‘special relationship’ faces stress from diverging priorities masked by shared rhetoric. Trump’s administration prioritises bilateralism, economic nationalism and Indo-Pacific security, while the UK, under the Labour Government, leans toward multilateral diplomacy, progressive trade policies and European security commitments. This policy gap threatens transatlantic cohesion, weakening their collective ability to act against common adversaries, particularly China.