It’s not every day a sitting American president rings up the BBC for a chat, but Donald Trump did exactly that this week, and he had quite a lot to say about the state of play between Washington and Westminster.
Speaking in a phone interview with the BBC’s North America editor, Trump said that King Charles’s forthcoming visit to the United States could “absolutely” help repair relations between the two countries. It was a notably warm tone from a president who spent much of his first term keeping the monarchy at arm’s length.
The visit, scheduled for next week, has been quietly anticipated in diplomatic circles for months. A state visit from the King carries considerable symbolic weight, and both governments appear to be treating it as an opportunity to reset what has been, at times, a fractious transatlantic relationship.
“I think it’s going to be a great visit,” Trump said, according to the BBC’s account of the interview. “The King is a very special person.”
Trump also touched on his relationship with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, which got off to a quietly awkward start after Labour’s election win last summer. The two men met earlier this year, and the White House has since struck a more conciliatory tone toward London, particularly around trade discussions.
For Starmer’s government, the timing matters. With Brexit’s long shadow still hanging over UK trade policy and a potential US-UK deal still very much in the negotiating phase, having the King on American soil, shaking hands and giving speeches, is precisely the kind of soft power moment that Downing Street will be hoping works in its favour.
There are, of course, limits to what royal charm can achieve in a city as transactional as Washington. Trade tariffs, defence spending commitments, and the thorny question of a digital services tax won’t be settled over a formal dinner at the White House.
But symbolism still counts for something in international relations, even now. The real question is whether goodwill generated over fine dining and ceremonial handshakes will actually translate into something concrete at the negotiating table.
