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From left: Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth II, and U.S. President Donald Trump during D-Day Commemorations on June 5, 2019, in Portsmouth, England.
Opinion: Trump strolling around Windsor Castle, as if he belongs, flies in the face of all the causes Charles has stood for throughout his life, writes John Casey.
I will never forget how uncomfortable the late Queen Elizabeth looked when she hosted Donald and Melania Trump during their first state visit to the United Kingdom in 2019.
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Her Majesty, who I adored, and whose entire reign was defined by composure, duty, and restraint, could not hide her unease, at least to me. Even behind her famously stoic demeanor, you could see the stiffness of her body language. And he probably pissed her off by breaking protocol a few times.
It was as if the presence of Trump, with his odorous blend of bluster, entitlement, and real odor, made the very air in Buckingham Palace heavy. According to her biography, the queen thought he was “very rude,” and she believed Trump “must have some sort of arrangement” with Melania — otherwise, "why would she remain married to him?"
Thankfully, the queen is spared the indignity of enduring him again. Sadly, her son King Charles is not. He now finds himself hosting Trump for a second time, an unusual honor since American presidents are rarely extended more than one state visit.
Trump, however, seems to consider himself an exception because, well, Trump thinks he’s a king like Charles. He’s getting the exception though because, for all intents and purposes, there’s the reign of “Trump I” (2017-2021) and now “Trump II.” And if his mother thought the worse of Trump, Charles is in for a rude (literally) awakening.
That’s because Trump II is far, far worse than Trump I. It’s hard to believe that such a thing is even possible, but each day here in the U.S. brings another day of revolting behavior from a man who thinks we made a huge mistake during the American revolution by dissing a royal family.
In Trump’s warped and narcissistic sense of reality, the repugnant Trump family of Don,Jr., Eric, Ivanka, et al. are America’s royal family, and soon they’ll all be flying on the souped-up palace in the sky.
Why Charles would degrade himself and the monarchy by inviting this thug and world pariah back as a “special guest” defies logic. Trump has spent years trashing America’s closest allies, including the United Kingdom, while fawning over Europe’s most dangerous dictator, Vladimir Putin.
He left NATO fractured, abandoned friends in need, and elevated adversaries who thrive on chaos and autocratic rule. To now see him strolling around Windsor Castle as if he belongs there is more than uncomfortable. It is an insult to the very traditions Charles has inherited. Trump is sure to hear about all the protests planned for his much-unwelcomed visit. Before he arrived, a giant Trump-Epstein banner was unfurled outside of Windsor Castle.
The gulf between the two men could not be greater. Charles has spent his public life championing the environment and sustainability, two words that are not in Trump’s vocabulary.
Charles warned of the dangers of climate change long before the issue became mainstream. He has devoted his energy to fighting poverty, supporting charities, and insisting that monarchy must serve rather than simply reign. As for Trump, he only wants the poor to suffer more than they are suffering now.
Members of Trump’s cabinet told European leaders just last week to stop worrying about climate change altogether. He dismisses science, mocks environmentalists, and governs as if fossil fuel is an elixir for the planet. Where Charles embodies common-sense stewardship, Trump embodies delirious destruction.
Charles is a smart man, by all accounts. Therefore, does he now realize just how much this visit tarnishes the crown? Trump does not see a constitutional monarchy with carefully limited powers. Rather, he sees a monarchy that is behind his fantasy of being enthroned with a crown, adored by throngs below a balcony, and obeyed by his subjects.
I’m sure that, to him, Windsor Castle is not some regal place in British history but a wall of mirrors that reflect his super-charged vanity. Look no further than what he did to the Oval Office, turning it into a cheap, gilded hall and treating it like his personal throne room.
Wannabe King Donald is now tacking a grotesque ballroom on to the White House, one bigger and more grand than originally planned. It’s as if scale and gaudiness are a reflection of Trump’s self-absorbed greatness. Walking through Windsor, Trump won’t be humbled. Rather, he will be inspired to debase the White House and American democracy even further.
And Charles is allowing him in. In my take on British history and the monarchy, it survives by appearing above politics, being neutral and enduring by trying to be above promoting an ideology. Charles opening the doors to Trump is promoting Trump’s ideology of tyranny.
Trump is a man who has openly sought to dismantle democratic norms, who idolizes strongmen, and who aspires not to lead but to rule. By hosting him yet again, Charles lends him a legitimacy he does not deserve. He makes the monarchy complicit in Trump’s ongoing quest to be recognized as a king.
Perhaps the British public understands this better than the palace does. Trump is loathed in the United Kingdom, and for good reason. He represents the antithesis of what most Britons expect in leadership, that it’s part humility, sacrifice, and at least some measure of dutiful public service.
Instead, Trump revels in grievance, vanity, and vainglory. For a brief moment, Britain must endure his presence, but at least America will be spared him for a couple of days while he laps up the royal treatment abroad.
Still, we can only hope that King Charles recognizes the cost and maybe uses the opportunity to speak out. I doubt it, but one can hope. Because hosting Trump does not elevate the reign of King Charles, instead it diminishes it. A real king should know better than to grant legitimacy to an autocratic thug like Donald Trump.
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