Donald Trump spared no effort to give King Charles III the royal treatment this week, lavishing praise and grand gestures on the British king, but not mentioning Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whom he blames for Britain’s decision not to support the fight against Iran.
Speaking at an official welcome reception held on the South Lawn of the White House Tuesday, President Trump praised Charles III as “a very elegant man”.”
He even mentioned Queen Elizabeth II, referring to her as “an incredible woman,” insisting that there was nothing ironic about commemorating the 250th anniversary of America’s independence through recognition of a British king.
Trump did not mention Starmer by name once during his speech. This was a deliberate omission.
The two leaders have clashed bitterly over the Iran conflict, with Starmer permitting the US military to use British bases but rejecting Trump’s demands for direct British involvement in combat operations.
Starmer told reporters earlier this month he was “fed up” with economic instability caused by decisions made in Washington.
The rift is also further poisoned by a leaked Pentagon email published last week by Reuters suggesting punishment for London by reconsidering America’s position on the Falkland Islands.
During the state dinner on Tuesday night, he delivered an impromptu statement in which he stated that “the king agrees with me even more than I agree with him when it comes to keeping a nuclear bomb out of the hands of Iran.”
Buckingham Palace issued a statement saying that the king is “naturally mindful of his government’s longstanding and well known position on the prevention of nuclear proliferation.”
Charles addresses Congress and tours Ground Zero
As far as Charles was concerned, he gave what could be described as a very provocative speech before a joint session of Congress that praised the alliance, spoke about multilateralism and praised the resistance of Ukraine, issues which are contrary to the US’s policy in general under Trump.
He referred to the transatlantic partnership as “one of the most consequential alliances in human history.”
He also called for support of the alliance. The monarch received bipartisan applause while delivering the speech lasting 30 minutes.
The royal couple flew into New York Wednesday for a solemn visit to the National September 11 Memorial, the first trip to the city by a reigning British monarch in 16 years.
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The King and Queen spent time speaking with families of victims, first responders and local officials, including New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani and former mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Among them was Anthoula Katsimatides, whose brother John died in the World Trade Center.
She later told reporters she found both the King and Queen ‘quite endearing’ and said she had been allowed to hug Camilla.
The commemorative trip took on special meaning in the run up to the quarter century mark of the attacks, which claimed the lives of almost 3,000 victims, among them 67 Britons.
