Even before the King and Queen wrap up their state visit to the United States and bid US President Donald Trump and the First Lady an official farewell on Thursday, Trump is making it clear that he remains largely unmoved by the messages the monarch conveyed in Washington.
In a series of moves on Wednesday, Trump could not have done more to make it clear that while he thinks the King made a “fantastic” speech on Capitol Hill and is a “very good friend of mine”, he still has buckets of disdain for the prime minister.
Asked by a reporter whether his conversations with the King had done anything to reduce his animus towards Sir Keir Starmer, for a brief moment the president’s answer appeared to be moving in a refreshingly positive direction.
“Yeah, it helps from the standpoint of when you like the King of a country, it probably helps your relationship with the prime minister”, he said. But then came the brutal, familiar chaser. “In that case, the prime minister, I said ‘do you want to send a little help?’ He said ‘no we’ll send it after you win the war’. I said ‘that’s not good’”.
With those comments, and a repetition of his unsubstantiated claim that the King would have joined the US and Israeli war on Iran had he been Britain’s political leader in addition to its head of state, we were back in the realm of the status quo ante.
Later on Wednesday, the position darkened even further. Taking to his social media account, Trump suddenly announced that he is considering steps that may serve as the death knell for the Nato alliance.
“The United States is studying and reviewing the possible reduction of Troops in Germany”, he revealed, saying the “determination will be made over the next short period of time”.
The move is a direct reprisal for German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s outspoken claim this week that Iran has “humiliated” the United States.
In comments that enraged Trump, Merz – who is himself furious over the impacts of the conflict on Germany’s economy – argued that “the Americans obviously have no strategy”. He called the war “ill-considered, and I do not see at the moment what strategic exit the Americans are choosing”.
With around 35,000 active-duty US troops stationed in Germany, the president may be on the brink of making a significant force reduction that could leave Europe exposed and vulnerable to attack.
Spread across six garrisons, and with 40 separate facilities including the sprawling Ramstein Air Base, Germany serves as a strategic hub for America forces and is home to the US military’s second-largest continuing deployment after Japan.
Coming hours after the King’s speech reminded Congress that the only time Nato’s mutual defence covenant Article V has ever been invoked was in the aftermath of al Qaeda’s 9/11 attacks on America in 2001, Trump’s announcement serves as fresh evidence that he remains determined to disengage from a European alliance the King urged him to burnish.
King Charles’ argument that “we stood with you then and we stand with you now” appears to have fallen on deaf ears at the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue. Similarly, his argument that “defence, intelligence and security ties are hardwired together through relationships measured not in years, but in decades” appears to have been answered by the immediate Trump threat to pull troops out of Germany, putting the entire European continent, as well as the UK, at risk.
There have been other developments here that fly in the face the King’s carefully-worded remarks urging the United States to ensure “executive power is subject to checks and balances”.
The arrest of former FBI director James Comey on specious charges that allege his photograph of some seashells on a beach constituted a threat to incite violence against Trump suggests the Department of Justice is nothing more than the US leader’s personal office of retribution.
This week’s news that Trump’s image and golden signature will feature on the inside cover of some American passports underscores the authoritarian cult of personality that he is seeking to construct.
Before departing for Bermuda on the next leg of his state visit, the King has one more chance on Thursday to speak truth to American power, and nudge Trump in a more responsible direction. But all the warning signs are now flashing red: nothing appears to have changed, with fresh attacks on the prime minister and enormous dangers for Europe ahead.
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