TRUMP DAZZLED BY PAGEANTRY
While the focus on Thursday will turn to geopolitics and trade when Starmer hosts Trump at his Chequers country residence, Wednesday was all about ceremony.
Trump and Melania joined Charles, his wife Queen Camilla and other royals and dignitaries for a carriage procession, with the route lined by 1,300 British service personnel.
Later, the Trumps viewed historical items from the Royal Collection relating to the US, and then visited St George’s Chapel, the final resting place of Queen Elizabeth, who hosted Trump for his first state visit in 2019, to lay a wreath on her tomb. She died in September 2022.
There was a further military parade and a flypast by Britain’s Red Arrows aerobatics team, but poor weather meant British and US F-35 military jets – a symbol of bilateral defence collaboration – could not join.
The Trumps also found time for a private meeting with the king’s elder son Prince William and the heir’s wife Kate, which was described by the prince’s spokesperson as “warm and friendly”.
Trump later praised “beautiful” Kate and said William was “going to have unbelievable success in the future”.
As for Charles, the 76-year-old monarch, he was a “very, very special man”, the president said.
Analyst Kupchan said European leaders – including the British – have largely figured out how to handle Trump: flatter him, avoid confrontation and keep him on their side.
“In some ways, this is the pinnacle of that effort because of all the pomp and circumstance,” he said.
By contrast, leaders who challenged him, such as Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, have faced political pushback, Kupchan added.
“The Europeans have basically figured out that to keep Trump on their side: be nice to the guy.”
