King Charles visits the US amid tense relations with President Trump
USA TODAY Washington Bureau Chief Susan Page takes a deep dive into the U.S.-British relationship and what to expect from King Charles III’s visit to Washington.
President Donald Trump praised and criticized British politicians in an interview with the BBC on Thursday, April 23, just days before King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s visit to the United States.
Charles, 77, and Camilla, 78, will be in the United States from April 27 to April 30 at President Trump’s invitation, during which they will attend a dinner at the White House, a private meeting with the president, and address Congress.
Britain’s Foreign Office told the BBC that the visit celebrates the 250th anniversary of American independence and a partnership of “prosperity, security and a shared history,” and comes amid heightened tensions between Trump and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer over Starmer’s reluctance to get involved in the Iran war and refusal to allow the U.S. to launch attacks on British military bases, as previously reported by USA TODAY.
In a five-minute telephone interview with BBC reporter Sarah Smith, President Trump praised the king while making sarcastic remarks about the prime minister.
Here’s what President Trump said about the royal family and Britain:
President Trump praises King Charles as ‘amazing’
Asked if he thought the royal couple’s visit would help mend U.S.-UK relations, President Trump replied: “Absolutely.”
“He’s great,” President Trump said of Charles III. “He’s a great guy. Without a doubt, the answer is yes.”
The president added: “I know him very well and have known him for many years. He is a brave man, a great person. They will definitely be a plus.”
UK PM says immigration policy can ‘recover’
Asked about a post on Truth Social in which Trump criticized Starmer for appointing Sir Peter Mandelson as British ambassador to the US, the president said the prime minister still had time to “get back on his feet”.
“If we open up the North Sea and tighten our immigration policies, which we don’t currently have, we could bounce back, but otherwise I don’t think we have a chance,” he said.
Later on Thursday, Mr Keir told the BBC that he was making decisions “based on what is in Britain’s national interest, not what other people say or do”.
“That’s why I decided not to get involved in the Iran war,” Kiir continued. “I’m not going to be distracted or diverted from what other people say.”
US ‘doesn’t need’ aid, but UK should provide support to Iran
Speaking about Starmer and Iran, Trump stressed that the US “didn’t need” Britain’s aid, but that Britain “should have supported” the war effort.
“It wasn’t needed at all, but it should have been. It clearly wasn’t needed,” he said. “We wiped out the Iranian military. We didn’t need anyone.”
He described the request for help from allies as “rather a test” and said: “We wanted to see if our allies would get involved.”
He also defended his widely criticized threats against Iran, declaring in early April that “an entire civilization will perish tonight.”
“The other side wants a deal,” he told the BBC. “So no matter what I say or do, it seems to be working very well.”
threaten new tariffs
President Trump threatened to impose new tariffs on Britain after ending the conversation by referring to a multibillion-dollar libel suit over the editing of the Panorama documentary and warning that the BBC must be “very careful” or risk “tarnishing” its reputation.
Later in the day, the president told reporters in the Oval Office that new tariffs would be imposed if Britain did not reduce the 2% digital services tax on big US technology companies.
“We’ve been looking at that, but the UK would do well to be careful because it could very easily be achieved by simply imposing large tariffs on the UK.”
dig prince harry
In the same Oval Office interview, Trump also slammed Prince Harry after reporters asked him whether it was “appropriate” for the royal family, like the Duke of Sussex, to urge the president to do more to end the war in Ukraine.
After paying tribute to Prince Harry’s wife Meghan, Trump responded: “Prince Harry does not speak for Britain, that’s for sure.” “I don’t think I speak for Britain more than Prince Harry, but I appreciate his advice.”
According to Reuters, Prince Harry visited Kiev, Ukraine, on April 23 and called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to end the war. He also spoke of the obligation of U.S. leaders to do more to end the war.
“This is a moment for American leadership, a moment to demonstrate that the United States can abide by its international treaty obligations not out of charity but out of its own enduring role in global security and strategic stability,” he said, as reported by USA TODAY.
