US president says Americans ‘have had no closer friends than the British’ amid recent tensions between both nations
Donald Trump has praised the “special relationship” between the US and the UK, as he hosted a ceremonial military welcome for Charles and Camilla at the White House.
Against a backdrop of recent tensions between London and Washington, the US president, speaking on the second day of King Charles’s state visit, said: “In the centuries since we won our independence, Americans have had no closer friends than the British.”
He paid tribute to the “essence” of the “special relationship” in the wake of the second world war, saying: “That understanding of our nation’s unique bond and role in history is the essence of our special relationship and we hope it will always remain that way.”
Charles’s diplomatically sensitive visit comes amid public criticism by Trump of Keir Starmer over the war in Iran. Officials in Downing Street will be hoping the royal family’s soft power diplomacy can help heal the rift.
