“I am sure we can get along if he doesn’t try to give me too much soft soap,” Harry S Truman said of Winston Churchill. Soft soap (flattery) has been Britain’s lubricant for the “special relationship” since Churchill took office in 1940. It is also Sir Keir Starmer’s preferred balm, which is just as well because Donald Trump is no Truman. Flattery is mandatory with Trump, although it only gets you so far. Think of it as the entrance fee to a club that charges a bomb for the house soda.
“我确信，只要他不对我说太多的恭维话，我们能相处得很好，”当年哈里•S•杜鲁门(Harry S Truman)在谈到温斯顿•丘吉尔(Winston Churchill)时表示。自1940年丘吉尔出任英国首相以来，恭维话一直是英国维持“英美特殊关系”的润滑剂。这也是基尔•斯塔默(Keir Starmer)偏爱的寒暄方式；幸亏如此，因为唐纳德•特朗普(Donald Trump)可不是杜鲁门。要同特朗普打交道，恭维是必不可少的——尽管它的作用有限。不妨把它想象成一家俱乐部的入场费，而这家俱乐部的招牌汽水价格高得惊人。
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