Beijing News reporter Xie Lian editor Hu Jie proofreader Fang Chunchun
After a delicate joint press conference with British Prime Minister Starmer, US President Trump ended his second state visit to Britain. On the evening of September 18th, local time, Trump had set off for the White House.
Trump’s visit to Britain was relatively rare, and he was the first president in U.S. history to make a two-time state visit to Britain – the last during his first term in 2019.
The great reception highlighted the “special relationship” between the United States and Britain, which Trump and Stammer, and King Charles III of Britain hoped to present to the outside world. However, outside the floating Windsor Castle, the atmosphere was not so friendly. In the Chiefs House, Trump and Stammer were intentionally debilitating, but the differences could not be ignored; in the streets of London, the anti-Trump rally also highlighted the British people’s unwelcome attitude toward Trump.
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A Day at Windsor Castle:
The royal enthusiasm and the protest of the people.
On the evening of September 16th, local time, Trump and his wife melania arrived in London by Air Force One special plane to start their state visit to the UK. In the past half century, only three American presidents have paid state visits to Britain-George W. Bush, Obama and Trump, and Trump is the first American president to pay two state visits to Britain. This is Trump's second visit to Britain in two months after his visit to Scotland in July this year.
During his visit to Scotland in July, Trump also met with Stammer and Scotland’s prime minister Sweeney, but believes that the main purpose is for the family’s newly-built McDonald’s Golf Course, so the visit has sparked controversy in the United States.
During this state visit to Britain, Trump enjoyed the highest courtesy in Britain. After staying at the residence of the US Ambassador to Britain in London for one night, on September 17th, Trump flew to Windsor Castle to start the first day of his official visit. On this day, Trump spent all his time at Windsor Castle-the family castle where the British royal family lives, with a history of nearly a thousand years.
During a state visit to Britain in 2019, Trump met Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace in London. This time, as Buckingham Palace was undergoing renovations, Charles III welcomed Trump at Windsor Castle.
Anna whitelock, a professor of modern monarchy history at St. George's College, University of London, said that Trump has always had a good impression of the monarchy and the royal family, and this attraction may become a potential "diplomatic trump card" for the British government, giving Britain a "rare advantage" when dealing with Trump.
At Windsor Castle, the Trumps cruised with Charles III and Queen Camilla in a golden carriage, had lunch with members of the British royal family including Prince William and Princess Kate, laid wreaths at the tombstone of Elizabeth II when visiting the castle, watched the Royal Air Force air show, and finally ended with a grand and luxurious British state banquet.
The state banquet was held in St George's Hall, the largest room in Windsor Castle. A long table of 50 meters was placed in the center of the hall, flanked by about 160 British and American dignitaries and business leaders. According to the British "Financial Times" report, at the state banquet that evening, Blackstone Group CEO Steve Schwarzman, Apple CEO Tim Cook, News Corp., Nvidia, OpenAI, Citigroup and other business leaders sat beside senior British and American government officials and members of the British royal family.
Such a national banquet list also highlights to some extent an important goal of Trump’s trip, namely to strengthen business and technology cooperation between the United Kingdom and the United States. The following day, Trump and Stammer signed the “Technology and Prosperity Agreement”, which focuses on cooperation between the two countries in the fields of technology such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing and civilian nuclear energy.
In addition, Downing Street revealed earlier that Britain and the United States will reach relevant agreements with a total value of up to 150 billion pounds during Trump's visit, including 100 billion pounds invested by Blackstone Group in the UK in the next decade, 3.9 billion pounds invested by American real estate investment trust GLP in British life sciences and advanced manufacturing, and 1.5 billion pounds invested by American software company Palantir in British defense industry.
Another important purpose of Trump's trip was also highlighted at the state banquet, that is, to emphasize the "special relationship" between the United States and Britain. In his speech, Trump said that the "family relationship and identity bond" between the United States and Britain is "priceless and eternal" and it is "irreplaceable and unbreakable". In his speech, Charles III also praised the "historical ties" between Britain and the United States, saying that "the ocean may still separate us, but in many ways, we are the closest relatives".
However, the British media also pointed out that some contents in Charles III's speech may not make Trump's "glorious" day end so happily. In his speech, Charles emphasized the need to "stand together and support Ukraine." The Financial Times stated that this is, to some extent, a reminder to Trump that the peaceful settlement of the Russia-Ukraine issue cannot ignore Ukraine's demands. On this issue, there are differences between Britain and the United States that cannot be ignored.
Trump’s day at Windsor Castle was less “perfect” and there were protests in the streets of London. In fact, contrary to the enthusiasm shown by the British royal family, the British people were dissatisfied with Trump’s visit.
According to CNN, shortly after Trump arrived in London on the evening of September 16, the anti-Trump parade opened the corner on the streets of London. The next day, the scale of the parade grew further, with many carrying signs with inscriptions such as "Say no to Trump, say no to fascism" and "Do not war, do not racism" to indicate the unwelcome visit of Trump.
However, street protests did not affect Trump's high-quality reception in Windsor Castle. On the evening of September 17, Trump lived in Windsor Castle, waiting for a meeting with Stammer the next day.
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Chequers Manor Talks:
Intimate handshaking and unexplained differences
On the morning of September 18th, after bidding farewell to Charles III, Trump boarded the Navy One helicopter and set off for Chequers Villa, the country residence of the British Prime Minister. His wife Melania stayed at Windsor Castle, visited the Royal Library with Camilla, and then took part in an outdoor activity for children with Princess Kate.
Compared to Melania’s easy diplomatic activities, Trump’s visit to the Chicks Villa seemed much heavier.
At Cheeks Villa, Stammer and his wife Victoria enthusiastically welcomed Trump. Trump and Stammer then held bilateral talks and attended a business reception. There, the two also signed a technology cooperation agreement – a major landing point for Trump’s visit.
For Stammer, who is in a deep political crisis, the investment benefits of Trump’s visit to Britain may have relieved him a little. That weekend before Trump’s visit to Britain, Britain erupted “one of the largest far-right rallies in decades,” with 150,000 peoplely rallying against illegal immigration into the UK. At the same time, anti-right groups also held demonstrations.
Analysts have pointed out that behind this massive protest, it has actually highlighted the challenges of social governance facing Britain in recent years. In Britain, the rise of far-right forces, the intensification of inter-party games, along with pressure such as the continued rise of prices, social contradictions are escalating. The contradictions of agitation are also reflected in the political level. The support rate for the Labour government led by Stammer has recently fallen, and he himself has been pressured by Labour parliamentarians to demand him to resign.
In addition, five days before Trump's visit to Britain, Stammer fired British ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, on the grounds that he was associated with the late American wealthy, convicted sex offender Epstein.
The BBC noted that Mandelson was fired in the shadow of the Trump visit, and Stammer had to deal with the matter with caution to avoid making Trump feel more embarrassed. In the United States, Trump was also criticized by the Democratic Party for his past friendship with Epstein, although he himself said he had broken contact with Epstein since mid-2000.
In fact, at a joint press conference at Chicks Villa, Trump and Stammer were asked about Mandelson’s dismissal, and both were relieved and intentionally avoided it. Trump even said, “I don’t really know him (Mandelson).”
The atmosphere of this joint press conference was quite subtle. Trump was as relaxed as usual, while Starmer was much more cautious. The two were asked about a wide range of topics, including the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the war in Gaza and internal affairs between the two countries. Reuters pointed out that both Trump and Starmer tried to downplay their differences, hoping to show a gesture of unity to the outside world. Starmer, in particular, deliberately avoided many divisive issues.
One central difference is the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. According to the Guardian, Starmer will officially announce the recognition of the Palestinian state this weekend when Trump ends his visit to Britain. Trump has been standing with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and criticizing many western countries' plans to recognize the Palestinian state.
Starmer made a statement in July this year that before the United Nations General Assembly in September this year, if Israel fails to meet a series of conditions proposed by Britain to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, Britain will officially recognize the Palestinian state. Today, Israel has not only failed to meet the conditions proposed by the United Kingdom, but is expanding its military operations against Gaza. In addition to Britain, France, Australia, Canada and other countries are also expected to officially recognize the Palestinian state during the UN General Assembly in September.
On September 18th, Trump made it clear that he opposed Britain's plan to recognize the Palestinian state. He said that this was "one of the few differences" in this meeting. Another reporter asked Trump when he would put pressure on Israel to end the war in Gaza. Trump, for his part, avoided talking, saying only that Hamas's attack on Israel on October 7, 2023 was unacceptable and that Hamas still holds many hostages.
Another disagreement is in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Recently, due to Russian drones entering Polish airspace, Ukraine and many NATO countries have called for more sanctions on Russia.
At a press conference, Trump said Russian President Putin "disappointed him," but he also said that many European countries are still buying Russian oil and he was disappointed about it, while Stammer stressed that more pressure must be put on Russia.
Speaking of the issue of illegal immigration, Trump advised Stammer to “move the army” to stop illegal immigrant ships from crossing the English Strait, but Stammer did not respond, referring only to the “one-in-one” agreement with France, which says that for every illegal immigrant who returns to France by smuggling the English Strait, Britain receives one legal refugee who applies for asylum in France and can prove a connection with Britain.
On energy issues, Trump urged Stammer to develop oil and gas resources in the British North Sea, calling wind power “a very expensive joke”, but the British government has made it clear that it refuses to issue new oil and gas development licenses in the North Sea, instead of focusing on renewable and nuclear energy.
The BBC commented that Trump’s visit showed the world the friendly relationship between Britain and the United States, but also showed that Britain, as its closest ally, could not change Trump’s decision. When asked by a BBC reporter whether Trump’s trip would increase Britain’s influence on the United States in trade or foreign policy, Wells replied, “Not at all.”
Trump has called his second state visit to Britain "one of the highest honors of his life" during the party at Windsor Castle, however, some analysts say that after returning to the White House, the "special relationship" between the United States and Britain may not be as special, both in trade and foreign policy, and Trump will still adhere to "America priority".