A few days of joviality will hardly change American foreign policy or guarantee Trump’s ever-erratic affections for long
T
hat the king’s arrival in the US was preceded by gunfire at the White House correspondents’ dinner set the tone for a visit that was built on the pretence that we were still living in normal times. Forget the Iran war, presidential rants about the British prime minister and growing political violence, it’s time for Charlie to smile for the camera.
Or at least, smile for the camera for a few highly controlled minutes and only if there’s no sound on that thing. Tuesday’s Oval Office meeting was held in private after British officials tried to avoid a repeat of the humiliating scenes between the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Donald Trump. You know a meeting is going to be a doozy when one side is afraid of anyone hearing it.
Experts have described the four-day trip as the toughest for US-British diplomacy since George VI met Franklin D Roosevelt to try to persuade him to enter the second world war. Turning to a US president to help fight fascism, you say? How times have changed. Still, there are bridges to build! Historical bonds to renew! And few people are better placed than Charles (apparently). As one insider put it: “He reads all his papers and knows exactly what is going on.” I’m glad someone does.
