King Charles subtly jabs at Trump in historic address while also calling for closer co-operation

billie jean moffitt king charles ix delivered a historical call to the U.S. United states congress Tuesday that was replete with calls for better relations between Britain and the States but also some subtle jabs at his host, President Donald Trump.

Charles used that grand Washington stage to gently correct the record on NATO's past support for the U.S., stand up for the Royal Navy after Trump's insults about that service, call for greater protection for nature amid American indifference on climate change and praise checks and balances on executive power at a time when the American president is thumbing his nose at Congress and the courts.

"But he did it elegantly," he said.

"The King is very astute and he knows how to use his platform to push for things he thinks he can get away with. Here, he did it to maximum effect."

Indeed, most of his nearly 30-minute speech to American lawmakers — the first ever by a British King — was about championing the value of trans-Atlantic co-operation.

The monarch said the two sides patched up their differences after the bloody Revolutionary War and can do so again with their present difficulties.

"With the spirit of 1776 in our minds, we can perhaps agree that we do not always agree — at least in the first instance," Charles said.

"Ours is a partnership born out of dispute, but no less strong for it," he said. "Our two countries have always found ways to come together. And by Jove, when we have found that way to agree, what great change is brought about, not just for the benefit of our peoples, but of all peoples."

"Our destinies as nations have been interlinked. As Oscar Wilde said, ‘We have really everything in common with America nowadays except, of course, language!' " he joked, to rapturous applause from members of all political stripes — a rare sight in that deeply divided chamber.

FULL SPEECH | King Charles hopes ‘we can stem the beating of ploughshares into swords’

Charles's remarks come at a low point in what the two sides have historically called the "special relationship," a phrase coined by former British prime minister Winston Churchill following the Second World War.

Leaders on both continents have invoked that term to describe how close the two countries are on all matters, from language and culture to trade and defence.

But given that Trump recently called British Prime Minister Keir Starmer a coward for sitting out the war on Iran and said he is "no Winston Churchill," not to mention his trade actions against British goods, there are concerns that the relationship really isn't all that special anymore.

Indeed, the U.K. Ambassador to the U.S., Christian Turner, was recorded telling a group of British students earlier this year that he thinks the U.S.'s special relationship is now with Israel.

According to a tape obtained by The Financial Times and released Tuesday, Turner said in February that he doesn't like the term "special relationship" anymore because it sounds "quite nostalgic, quite backward-looking and it has a lot of baggage about it."

Charles obliquely said that the special relationship continues, but he did not shy away from subtly addressing some of the president's recent remarks that have clearly rankled Buckingham Palace.

In addition to blasting Starmer, Trump has since mocked Britain's Royal Navy and its aircraft carriers as "toys."

The King reminded Trump and others today that he served in that navy, as did many of his relatives, "with immense pride."

Trump has viciously criticized NATO allies, saying the trans-Atlantic alliance has been of little use to the U.S., and bogusly claimed in one social media post that NATO "wasn't there when we needed them and won't be there if we need them again."

He also falsely stated that Canadian, British and other troops on the ground in Afghanistan as part of the American war on terror "stayed a little back" from the front lines.

While serving in that campaign, Canadian forces were deployed to Kandahar, one of the most dangerous wartime provinces.

Similarly, British troops were primarily in Helmand province, a Taliban stronghold. The King's son, Prince Harry, did two tours of duty there during his 10-year armed forces career.

The King noted that the first, and so far only, time that NATO invoked Article 5, the alliance's mutual defence pact, was in 2001 after the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

"We answered the call together — as our people have done so for more than a century, shoulder to shoulder, through two World Wars, the Cold War, Afghanistan and moments that have defined our shared security," he said.

While supporting Ukraine in its war with Russia has been a controversial matter among some U.S. Lawmakers — and don't forget Trump lashed out at his Ukrainian counterpart in the Oval Office —Charles unabashedly urged the Americans to continue supporting that effort.

"Unyielding resolve is needed for the defence of Ukraine and her most courageous people—to secure a truly just and lasting peace," he said.

King Charles defends NATO unity

Then there were Charles's lengthy remarks about protecting "nature," as he cleverly avoided mentioning the fraught words "environment" or "climate change" while making the case for more ambitious action to save the planet.

And at a time when Trump has banned citizens from some Muslim majority countries from entering the U.S., Charles called for more interfaith dialogue and better "mutual understanding to value all people, of all faiths, and of none."

Fraser says Charles was trying to "reorient Trump" and subtly steer him away from some of his most heated rhetoric, especially as it relates to NATO.

"It was good for the Americans to be reminded of the value of this alliance and what it's done for the States," he said.

"I don't think Mr. Trump knows how to change course on anything, but maybe hearing some of this in more softer, gentler terms from the King can have an impact — he was googly-eyed for him and the Queen after all."

That's a reference to Trump's effusive praise for the King at the official welcoming ceremony at the White House before Charles's afternoon speech.

The president recalled how his Scottish-born mother was an ardent monarchist who revered the Royal Family, suggesting this explains his own personal infatuation with Britain's crowned heads.

"She loved the Queen," Trump said of his mother, recounting watching the royals on TV together. "She'd say, 'Donald, look at how beautiful that is.' She really did love the family."

Trump also revealed that his mother thought the "young Charles" was "so cute," which prompted a smile and a shrug from the monarch.

"My mother had a crush on Charles," Trump says with a chuckle. "I wonder what she's thinking now."

Later, upon greeting Charles during his arrival at the state dinner, Trump called the King's speech "great."

"I was very jealous," he said.

Trump welcomes King Charles, talks about 'cherished' bond between U.S. And U.K.

That affection gives Charles more leeway than other world leaders to chide the president when he thinks he's stepped wrong, Ed Wang, a royal commentator, said in an interview.

"I think he's willing to get right up to the line to convey a very subtle message from a position of authority, a position of power, emphasizing what the King believes is the right thing to do," Wang said.

"Other leaders would be afraid of antagonizing Trump."

Senior reporter

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