LONDON, England — President Donald Trump will travel to the United Kingdom this week for a three-day state visit, as the president continues to navigate tense trade talks and war on the European continent.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer extended the invitation to Trump on behalf of King Charles III during a February visit to the White House, marking the first, “second” state visit invitation ever dolled out to a foreign leader by the Crown. Trump’s first state visit came back in 2019, three years before the death of Queen Elizabeth II.
“He’s a beautiful man, a wonderful man,” Trump told Starmer at the time. “Your country is a fantastic country, and it’ll be our honor to be there.”
Though Trump and Starmer ostensibly occupy opposing ends of the political spectrum, the latter set the model other European leaders have successfully followed for engaging “Dear Donald,” as Starmer likes to call the president, during his second term: pile on the flattery.
Those efforts have yielded significant results. The U.K. was the first country to sign a trade deal with the U.S. after Trump announced his “Liberation Day” tariffs back in April.
Furthermore, Starmer and other European executives have substantially shifted Trump’s position on the war in Ukraine. On the campaign trail, Trump and his allies frequently criticized U.S. aid of Ukraine’s defense efforts, but this summer saw Trump turn up the heat on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end his invasion, even if the president’s efforts to bring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Putin to the negotiating table have stalled in recent weeks.
And while Trump will meet with Starmer multiple times on this trip, stretching from Sept. 16-18, the prime minister will receive a Royal assist in keeping the U.K. in Trump’s good graces.
Famed British historian Sir Anthony Seldon notes that the Crown, though lacking much actual authority, can still flex the soft power necessary for maintaining relations with a leader like Trump.
“Is there any leader anywhere in the world who has quite that same attraction to Donald Trump as the British monarch?,” Seldon told Reuters. “Derided by many as antiquated and hopelessly out of date — it’s the royal family and the monarchy which is attracting the most powerful person in the world.”
Charles won’t be the only Royal tasked with impressing the Trumps.
William and Catherine, the Prince and Princess of Wales, will greet the president and first lady Melania Trump upon their arrival in London and travel with the Trumps to Windsor Castle, the principal residence of the British monarchy for the past thousand years, on Wednesday.
There, Trump will be honored with a royal salute, simultaneously fired in Windsor and at the Tower of London, a joint US-UK F-35 flyover, a private state lunch with the King and Queen Camilla, and a lavish state banquet in the evening.
As if that wasn’t enough, Trump is expected to take part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II in Windsor and, on Wednesday, following meetings at Chequers with Starmer and his wife, Lady Victoria, take a personal trip through the Sir Winston Churchill archives. Trump has repeatedly pointed to Churchill as one of his greatest political influences and maintained a bust of the former British prime minister in the Oval Office throughout both of his terms in the White House.
Melania Trump will similarly receive personal attention from the Queen and Princess. While Trump is soaking up Churchill, Camila will guide the first lady through a tour of the Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House, before Melania joins Catherine for an event at Frogmore Gardens to visit with Scouts Association members.
Still, Trump’s visit may feature more than a few hiccups.
Sir Ed Davey, the leader of Britain’s Liberal Democrats, has already announced plans to boycott Trump’s banquet, based on America’s support of Israel’s war in Gaza, and the U.K.’s Stop Trump Coalition is planning a protest around Trump’s arrival in London.
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“There is a clear and growing link between the international far right in the US and UK,” the group said in a statement. “Trump’s politics have encouraged this resurgence of hate in both countries.”
“Starmer rolling out the red carpet for Trump sends a deeply dangerous message and does nothing to provide support to communities seeing a surge in racism in the UK. He is missing in action at a time when the UK needs strong leadership to face down the far right,” the coalition continued. “We’re calling on everyone who opposes today’s scenes to join us on Wednesday and say: not in our name. This protest isn’t just about Trump — it’s about what kind of country we want to be.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.washingtonexaminer.com ’
