A not-so-special relationship.

President Trump's two handed intervention into our general election is ambiguous in its effect.

On the one hand Trump  has somewhat torpedoed Prime Minister Johnson's oft-repeated claim that a "free  trade deal with the US" is more or less in the bag by announcing that  the the deal Johnson has negotiated with Europe will make the negotiation of a free trade deal with the US more difficult. 

If we take Trump at his word, he has exposed Johnson's boast as groundless.

On the other had he has helpfully, for Johnson, advised  Nigel Farage to make pacts with the Tories to ensure that our Leave vote is not split, and opined that Jeremy Corbyn would lead the UK  to a "bad place."

 I wonder how this advice resonates with Farage's mantra of "taking back control."?  

OK, it is advice and not an instruction, but it does illustrate that any relationship between the US and the UK is one of our subservience  rather than equality, and special only in the sense that the US President has graciously taken note of our little domestic squabble.

Another issue illustrates that Johnson has nowhere  near the influence with Trump that he likes to pretend.  

Last month Johnson intervened in the campaign to have Anne Sacoolas, who allegedly killed Harry Dunn in a road accident and then claimed diplomatic immunity,  return to the UK to face trial.  

Johnson announced that, if the two Foreign Offices could not resolve the matter then he would personally contact  President Trump.  I believe he did so. but apparently to no avail.  Mrs Sacoolas is still in the US.  

For some reason our media have failed to give much, even any, publicity to this failure.

What is clear is the President Trump is keeping his campaign promise  to "put America first." Any expectation that the UK will receive special treatment, in trade deals, diplomacy, or anything else, is pure delusion.

Trump would like to add the UK market of 66 million or so  to his domestic market of some 330  million.  But it will be on his terms - we shall have no favours.

So far Jeremy Corbyn has the best line on this: "Our NHS is not for sale."