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JD Vance, U.S. senator of Ohio and a new rising star in the Republican Party, uploaded a photo from his meet-up with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy @Chevening-House, the official country residence of British foreign ministers. The post was appreciative of the hospitality and optimistic about the Shared US-UK goals, but it divided reactions into an instantaneous volley, some supporting and sharply opposing.
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The photograph shows Vance and Lammy standing in quite an elegant room, perhaps on one of the historic interiors of Chevening: Vance, clothed formally in dark suit, and Lammy, rather informally dressed in his lighter-toned jacket. The caption read: “Grateful to UK Foreign Secretary @DavidLammy for hosting us at Chevening House and looking forward to some productive conversations about the United States and the United Kingdom’s shared goals.”
A number of people were unimpressed. Another user retorted: “I’m not sure how you found the conscience to dine with him after the way he verbally abused your President,” referring to Lammy’s criticism of Donald Trump. Then, the following user called Lammy a “race baiter” and “an embarrassment to the UK,” and the third warned Vance: “Don’t trust him JD, we don’t.”
The skepticism was not unilateral. Another British comment lamented, accusing Vance of “selling off British land and sending money to our enemies.” Still, there were those who consoled more from a diplomatic perspective, diving in and saying, “Trump is the President of America, he is not America… We love America,” trying to separate the nation from its leader.
From that point, the comments spiraled into more parochial geopolitical viewpoints. The discussion roared: On one side, the user argued if the US should use its leverage on its allies by stating, “If a country has a defense treaty with a vastly more powerful ally, the ally should be able to dictate how the weaker partner governs itself?” The other one shot back, “We could very well just leave you alone,” conveying some degree of frustration at the way other countries might or might not be approaching the situation, possibly meaning Europe.
Amid the chaos, a few tried to lighten the mood: one entertained the idea of looking up Lammy’s infamous stint on Mastermind for a “measure of his intellect” and another sarcastically applauded the meeting, “our wonderful administration… working while on vacation.”
Grateful to UK Foreign Secretary @DavidLammy for hosting us at Chevening House, and looking forward to some productive conversations about the United States and the United Kingdom’s shared goals.🇺🇸🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/Iyg8jlVWFe
— JD Vance (@JDVance) August 9, 2025
The meeting, as it appears, is some way forward to cement US-UK relations, particularly on trade and security. Vance is a strong ally of Trump and has been raising the profile of his international front; Lammy, meanwhile, remains a Labour heavyweight in the spotlight for his past comments on international matters.
Whether the Chevening discussions will have any tangible outcomes yet remains to be seen. Still, if the online reaction is anything to go by, Vance’s international overtures are as divisive as they are strategically sound. There are those who consider this a priori way of life and those who consider it treasonous. Yet, the conversation is far from over, that is in existence and on the online platform.
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And hey, at least nobody brought up the Electric Slide this time.