King Charles III couldn’t resist a joke about America’s colonial past while dining with President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump this week.
Charles and Queen Camilla visited the White House on Tuesday for a state dinner, where they enjoyed a French-influenced menu consisting of a garden vegetable velouté and Dover sole meunière, among other dishes.
The king appeared to be in a jovial mood throughout the evening, even offering a tongue-in-cheek retort at one of Trump’s headline-making comments before an audience that included Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and outgoing Apple CEO Tim Cook.
“You recently commented, Mr. President, that if it were not for the United States, European countries would be speaking German,” he proclaimed. “Dare I say that, if it wasn’t for us, you’d be speaking French!”
Charles’ quip was a nod to Britain’s role in defeating France during the Seven Years’ War, which lasted from 1756 to 1763. It also came in response to a comment Trump’s made to European leaders earlier this year about World War II.
