Classy Cameron and Trump-courting Truss: a cautionary tale of two comebacks

As PM, David Cameron made mistakes on Libya, Syria and the EU, but he is now showing how to be a former PM, writes Andrew Grice. Liz Truss, not so much…

While Cameron grapples with two real-world crises costing thousands of lives in Ukraine and Gaza, Truss has not escaped her fantasy world (AFP/Getty)

David Cameron looked a class act on his visit to Washington, batting with skill on a sticky wicket at his joint press conference with Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state.

Cameron is struggling to persuade Republicans to unblock $60bn of military aid for Ukraine and Mike Johnson, speaker of the House of Representatives, declined to meet him.

Cameron wanted to talk about arms to Ukraine but was diverted by media questions on to UK arms to Israel. The Foreign Office’s legal advice is moving towards a view that Israel is breaching international humanitarian law in Gaza, but a divided cabinet – and Rishi Sunak – are not ready to ban arms sales. It is unclear whether the latest advice from officials covers the period in which seven aid workers were killed by an Israeli strike.