Donald Trump’s UK visit: ‘Nazi’ speech brings up old sensitivities
Donald Trump, Queen Elizabeth and Melania Trump at the Buckingham Palace state banquet on June 3. Photo: Getty
He forgot some key allies and half the population and brought up old wounds, but otherwise Donald Trump pulled off a successful state banquet at Buckingham Palace on Monday night.
The dinner came after a shaky start to his UK visit, when the US President gave the Queen an unusual greeting and had a brain freeze about a pewter horse.
While Prince Harry was a no-show at dinner, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (who were not photographed with the Trumps) and British Prime Minister Theresa May were among guests who mingled with the US entourage.
Its numbers included Mr Trump’s adult children Ivanka, Donald Jr, Eric and Tiffany, plus son-in-law Jared Kushner.
“Beyond wonderful to share this unforgettable occasion with this crew,” said Ivanka, posting a handful of family snaps to Twitter.
One showed her with TIffany and sister-in-law Lara Trump, a beaming patriarch front and centre like a prom night photo.
A spectacular State Banquet hosted by Her Majesty The Queen at Buckingham Palace 🇺🇸🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/kP0TVodzdv
— Ivanka Trump (@IvankaTrump) June 3, 2019
Some social media users were fans of the formal style, which had overtones of made-for-TV royal romances, but others suggested Mr Trump should avail himself of a Savile Row tailor.
“Not since Rudolf Hess parachuted into Scotland has there been a less auspicious entrance into the British Isles,” wrote one Twitter user.
Kate Middleton was glamorous in a feathered Alexander McQueen dress worn with the sash of the Royal Victorian order and the Queen Mother’s sapphire and diamond earrings.
At the banquet, 171 guests were seated at a horseshoe-shaped table according to their pecking order.
The Duchess of Cambridge and Steve Mnuchin on June 3. Photo: Getty
Mr Trump sat between the Queen and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, at the head of the table. Prince Prince Charles was on his mother’s left, with Melania Trump on his other side.
Kate and Prince William were on opposite sides at the corners of the table. William was between Ms May and the US ambassador’s wife Suzanne Johnson.
Kate’s dinner partners were the Lord Mayor of London, Peter Estlin, and Steven Mnuchin, US Secretary of the Treasury.
Ivanka sat next to Sophie, Countess of Wessex. Mr Kushner was paired with Princess Anne for the banquet, which included steamed fillet of halibut with watercress mousse, and Windsor lamb with port sauce.
Both the President and Queen made speeches. Ahead of June 6’s D-Day commemorations, the monarch spoke of how after the Second World War, Britain and the US “worked with other allies to ensure the horrors of conflict would never be repeated”.
Where the Queen saw horrors, Mr Trump saw “that great crusade”.
And while he mentioned the Queen’s work as a young war mechanic in 1945, Mr Trump – sounding like Brad Pitt in Inglourious Basterds – thanked only “the brave sons” of Britain and the US, who “defeated the Nazis and the Nazi regime”.
He failed to mention women who served, or other allied nations.
With their heritage, the fiercely apolitical royal family has a complicated, sensitive history with Nazi Germany. In 2015, Buckingham Palace slammed The Sun when it published 1933 photos of a six-year-old Princess Elizabeth being taught a Nazi salute.
Undaunted and looking like he was reading from a wine list, Mr Trump offered a toast.
"On behalf of all Americans, I offer a toast to the eternal friendship of our people, the vitality of our nations, and to the long-cherished and truly remarkable reign of Her Majesty The Queen." pic.twitter.com/R50gayneD5
— The White House 45 Archived (@WhiteHouse45) June 3, 2019
Earlier in the day, the President raised eyebrows by appearing to fist-bump the Queen when they met. The unorthodox greeting was compared to a complex multi-part “ghetto” handshake.
Royals correspondent Robert Jobson said on Seven’s Sunrise the fist bump was just a bad angle: Mr Trump was “putting out his hand to grab her fingers.”
Hours later, Mr Trump was saved by wife Melania, when they were given a personal tour by the Queen of an American artefacts exhibition at the palace.
Shown a pewter horse he gave as a gift when he met the monarch last July at Windsor, Mr Trump was asked if he recognised it.
“No,” he replied. Melania jumped in, reminding him of the provenance.
Trump was also shown the pewter horse that he’d given the Queen last year in his visit to Windsor. He was asked if he recognised it and he said “no”! Melania came to his rescue and said “I think we gave that to the Queen”. pic.twitter.com/SaIXvhUb7P
— Emily Andrews (@byEmilyAndrews) June 3, 2019
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