Theresa May has a successful visit to America

Her first visit as a guest of Donald Trump was always going to be a difficult mission.

The newly elected president of the US is highly unconventional and unpredictable and the British prime minister cannot possibly have known what reception would await her.

In the event Mr Trump was charming, in much the same way that he was charming when he visited the White House just after the election that he won unexpectedly.

His warm interaction with Barack Obama that day was significant given the bitter comments they had traded about one another during the campaign.

Mrs May had on Thursday addressed senior members of the Republican Party and spoken about Britain’s ‘special relationship’ with America.

She struck the right tone there between deference and boldness, saying in a skilled way some things that Mr Trump will not have wanted to hear – such as on Russia.

But the Republican leaders were delighted, perhaps because they too are concerned at Mr Trump’s views on some such foreign issues.

He is a strong supporter of Brexit, which is good for the UK as it begins the formal process of cutting its ties with the EU.

But for all the success of this visit, it merely means that Mrs May seems now to have a good relationship with the leader of the free world.

It is still far from clear how Mr Trump’s presidency will pan out. It is also far from clear how difficult negotiations between the UK and the EU will be.

Some people are appalled that Mrs May has struck up a warm relationship with Mr Trump but that is absurd. He is now the most powerful politician in the world and the leader of our most important ally.

If we have good relations with him, that is a welcome fact.