So Much for No Kings
King Charles delivered a speech to Congress, where No Kings Democrats gave him a standing ovation. Then, President Trump hosted him for a state dinner.
It doesn’t happen often, but to mark America’s upcoming 250th birthday, King Charles III — the great-great-great-great-great-grandson of King George III — visited and exchanged gifts with President Donald Trump, spoke before a joint session of Congress (only the second British monarch to do so; his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, being the other in 1991), and enjoyed a state dinner at the White House.
Naturally, the visit was full of pomp and circumstance, including American soldiers dressed in Revolutionary War uniforms, a military flyover, lines of mixed flags, and … bees. It was important not only because it’s rare for the British monarch to visit but because U.S. relations with the United Kingdom have become strained in recent years as the UK devolves from a left-wing cesspool into an Islamic caliphate.
Evidently unaware of the delicious irony, the No Kings Democrats in Congress gave King Charles a standing ovation.
However, there’s no truth to The Babylon Bee’s hilarious headline: “Trump Presents King Charles With Autographed Copy Of Declaration Of Independence.” Sad!
Let’s start with Trump’s remarks at the White House, in which he eloquently explained America itself:
Long before Americans had a nation or a Constitution, we first had a culture, a character, and a creed. Before we ever proclaimed our independence, Americans carried within us the rarest of gifts: moral courage.
It came from a small but mighty kingdom from across the sea. For nearly two centuries before the Revolution, this land was settled and forged by men and women who bore in their souls the blood and noble spirit of the British. Here on a wild and untamed continent, they set loose the English love of liberty and Great Britain’s distinctive sense of glory, destiny, and pride. …
The American Patriots who pledged their lives to independence in 1776 were the heirs to this majestic inheritance. Their veins ran with Anglo-Saxon courage. Their hearts beat with an English faith, and standing firm for what is right, good, and true.
In recent years, we’ve often heard it said that America is merely an idea, but the cause of freedom did not simply appear as an intellectual invention of 1776. The American founding was the culmination of hundreds of years of thought, struggle, sweat, blood, and sacrifice on both sides of the Atlantic. …
American patriots today can sing “My Country, ‘Tis of Thee, Sweet Land of Liberty,” only because our colonial ancestors first sang “God Save the King.”
Well said.
Next, consider the king’s speech.
“With the Spirit of 1776 in our minds, we can perhaps agree that we do not always agree — at least in the first instance!” he teased. Yet “I pray with all my heart that our alliance will continue to defend our shared values, with our partners in Europe and the Commonwealth, and across the world,” Charles told Congress. “And that we ignore the clarion calls to become ever more inward-looking.” That’s undoubtedly a veiled reference to the MAGA voices calling for a policy that’s essentially America Only.
“The challenges we face are too great for any one nation to bear alone,” the king added. “But in this unpredictable environment, our alliance cannot rest on past achievements, or assume that foundational principles simply endure.”
He’s right, albeit not exactly in the sense that he was warning Trump about NATO. Liberty must be actively defended because its enemies are always at the gates. The UK should be acutely aware of that at the moment.
I have to say my favorite moment happened at the White House state dinner. “I cannot help noticing the readjustments to the East Wing,” Charles wryly noted in his remarks. “I’m sorry to say that we British, of course, made our own small attempt at real estate redevelopment of the White House in 1814.” Okay, now that’s funny.
He also delivered another humorous zinger: “You recently commented, Mr. President, that if it were not for the United States, European countries would be speaking German. Dare I say that if it wasn’t for us, you’d be speaking French.”
Touché.
Of course, the other part of our history is that the French helped secure the British surrender at Yorktown and, thus, our independence. So there’s that.
Again, hanging over the entire visit are the souring relations between our two nations. President Trump is brash and bold and aims to put America First — exactly as he should. It’s no wonder that it sometimes rubs our allies the wrong way. Yet those nations have been slack in their NATO defense commitments, and many of our Western European allies are allowing their own nations to be overrun by hostile immigrants.
King Charles displayed excellent wit and charm yesterday, and it’s fun to see the two nations’ leaders seem to get along so well. But as always with these things, it’s the policies that matter, not the photo ops. Sadly, there’s little indication that the UK or its monarch is ready to change direction.
