ANKARA ­— Fresh from public displays of affection at their joint press conference early Friday afternoon, Donald Trump and Theresa May retired to the White House state banqueting room for lunch. Then it got really interesting.

The defining image of the pair, walking hand-in-hand like the odd couple of world politics, came as they strolled along the White House colonnade on their way for grub — an all-American menu of blue cheese salad and beef ribs.

Inside the room, each were joined by their eight closest officials, including Vice President Mike Pence, Trump’s ideological guru Steve Bannon and his influential son-in-law Jared Kushner.

The conversation was “warm, free-flowing and unscripted,” a Number 10 official said, with the pair spending much of the hour-long meeting discussing the Brexit vote, which Trump has backed with gusto.

What else went on behind closed doors? Based on an account of the encounter given by a Number 10 briefer to the British press corps travelling with her from Washington to Turkey and then on to London, here are nine of the most telling moments from inside the room.

Trump collects menus

“At the end of the lunch he said that he always kept menu cards to remember significant moments,” the Number 10 official said.

The tourist president

By this measure, Trump deemed his lunch with the British prime minister significant. “He gave the menu card to one of his members of staff and said ‘keep that safe, I had lunch with the British prime minister’.”

Not for turning

While warm and friendly for most of the meal, serious diplomacy was also done. At these moments, Trump was resolute. May raised the thorny issue of Russia and its violations of the Minsk agreement, designed to end fighting in eastern Ukraine. “He said he understood her position,” the official said. But Trump doubled down on his commitment to make friends with Moscow. “[He said] he hoped that he could have a great relationship,” the official added.

State visit demands — PM before HM

“He said several times that it was really important to see Theresa first when he comes to England,” the official said, putting one HRH Elizabeth II in her place. “He wants to see her first on arrival. ‘When I come to the UK, I want to see you first’.” Will May oblige and wait obediently on the Heathrow tarmac for Trump’s arrival later this year?

New Ronnie

Trump and May bonded over their love for the conservative icons Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, with the U.S. president expressing his hope that the new transatlantic power couple could strike an even closer relationship. “They talked a lot about Thatcher and Reagan,” the official said. “Both agreed it was one of the most successful political relationships ever. They referred to the time that Thatcher took over Britain and the large challenges that she faced, and agreed that they had a shared admiration for her. Trump went on to say that he always looked up to Reagan and said that he wanted their relationship to be even better than that one.”

Old friend Nigel

Trump swept aside diplomatic niceties by raising his old friend Nigel Farage during the conversation. The UKIP leader’s name came up “in the context of the Brexit vote,” the official said. “Trump made clear his views on Brexit. He said he’d heard Farage’s take on it and was interested to hear the prime minister’s take.”

Ideological allies

May told the U.S. president that, in her view, the British public wanted the U.K. to be “a sovereign nation in charge of its own decisions.” She said these were “hard-working people who, she felt, had been left behind.” In response, Trump said he cared for those people too and talked about how he felt there “were many in America who felt the same.”

Hand-in-hand

“If you watch the video, they’re walking along and there is an unseen ramp,” the Number 10 official said, when asked about the already famous hand-holding image. “He offered his hand, which she took as they stepped down the ramp,” the source said. Asked if this was seen as a “chivalrous gesture” the aide agreed.

Scared of ramps?

Is there another reason he took the British prime minister’s hand? The chatter in the White House press corps, picked up by U.K. government officials, was that the president had a phobia of stairs and ramps — a condition known as bathmophobia. Paired with his self-confessed “germophobia,” which may have stopped him reaching for the hand rail, Trump’s “chivalrous” gesture may have been less gentlemanly than at first sight, some wags averred.