US President Donald Trump meets with Britain's King Charles III in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on April 28, 2026. CHRIS JACKSON / AFP
President Donald Trump said Tuesday, April 28, that the United States has no closer friend than Britain, as he welcomed King Charles III to the White House on a state visit clouded by tensions over the Iran war.
"In the centuries since we won our independence, Americans have had no closer friends than the British," said Trump, referring to the fact that the royal visit marks the 250th anniversary of the US colonies declaring their freedom from British rule.
Using a phrase prized by British governments since Winston Churchill first used it after World War II, Trump said that the two countries had a "special relationship, and we hope it will always remain that way."
Trump also praised the British military, saying that "nobody fought better together" with the United States – despite recently deriding Britain's two aircraft carriers as "toys." Afterward, four US jets roared over the White House in a noisy flypast as Trump, Charles, Queen Camilla and First Lady Melania Trump watched.
