King Charles schedules Trump state visit for when UK parliament is in recess | Donald Trump
King Charles invited Donald Trump for an unprecedented second state visit in September, planning the trip for three days when the Parliament is not located and removes the possibility that the American president is addressed to Parliament.
The Buckingham Palace announced on Monday that Trump would come to the United Kingdom from September 17 to 19, shortly after the House of Commons increases for its traditional break for the party’s annual conferences.
The king will welcome Trump and his wife, Melania, at the Château de Windsor, although the palace has not yet put in detail other details of the trip.
The visit is a coup d’etat for the White House, Trump becoming the first elected politician in modern history to have obtained two state visits, after his previous one in 2019. The king first suggested the possibility of a second event of this type in February, delivered in the form of a letter from Keir Starmer during a meeting in the White House.
The dates of the trip, however, avoid the American president’s prospect of making a speech in Parliament.
Other presidents, including Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, made speeches in the two chambers of Parliament, while the French president, Emmanuel Macron, did it last week during his first state visit. However, a Trump speech was to prove controversial, some deputies having urged the president of the House of Commons, Lindsay Hoyle, to refuse the American president to honor.
Last week, 15 labor deputies and five others signed a parliamentary motion calling the speakers of the two houses not to allow Trump to give a speech during the state visit. The deputies, including Diane Abbott, Kate Osborne and Nadia Whittome, accused the president of “misogyny, racism and xenophobia”, criticizing “his previous comments on women, refugees and torture”, as well as her position on Ukraine.
Peter Mandelson, the American ambassador, told Sunday Times this weekend that he thought Trump should be warmly welcomed during this visit.
“He should expect a warm reception because he really likes Great Britain. He admires him a lot,” he said. “He trusts Keir Starmer. It is not a question of expressing our gratitude. My logestar here is to demonstrate respect, not sycophance. I do not think that the administration has a problem with this.”
Starmer has established a productive relationship with Trump since arriving at the office, convincing the American president to reduce prices on certain British products, such as cars and aerospace equipment.
But the Prime Minister seeks to obtain other concessions, in particular on steel exports. Steel and aluminum products are covered by the trade agreement signed between the two men, but are still subject to prices while the US administration asks other questions about the British supply chains.
Mandelson told the Sunday Times that the “10%universal price” was unlikely to change, but added that there was a “scope” for negotiations in different sectors and industries, such as technology.
Trump is a known admirer of the royal family, previously published on his social platform of truth: “I love King Charles.” But even with the royal seal of approval and the possibility of a parliamentary discourse having been avoided, the president’s visit offers many controversy opportunities.
When he visited the United Kingdom for the last time, tens of thousands of people protested against him in the streets of London. Trump responded with a social media tirade against the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, describing the Labor politician “cold stone loser”.
Trump also embarrassed criticism for seeking to walk in front of the Queen in what was interpreted as a violation of the royal protocol.
