Incoming U.S. President Donald Trump is reportedly set to become the first elected head of state to be hosted for a second state visit with the British Royal Family.
After having had the red carpet rolled out for him in Paris for the reopening of the Cathedral of Notre Dame, President-Elect Trump will make history again by being invited back to London for an official state visit with the Royal Family for a second time, The Telegraph reports.
The British broadsheet noted that, according to Royal records, this would mark the first time in modern history that an elected politician had been given such an honour since at least 1954.
While two monarchs, Queen Margrethe of Denmark and King Olav of Norway, have been hosted twice since then, no elected head of state has received such an honour in modern history.
Although U.S. presidents have typically only been afforded one state visit in Britain, which is distinct from other diplomatic meetings in that it involves the Royals, because of Mr Trump’s unorthodox tenure in the White House, as he is set to join Grover Cleaveland as the only presidents with non-consecutive terms, it has been deemed that a second visit would be justified.
A government source told the paper: “The fact there has been a change of both sovereign and government in that break [from power] means a second state visit is entirely appropriate.”
However, the decision to offer a second state visit is likely motivated more than mere happenstance of terms in office. While the Royals play an integral soft power role during state visits, holding one is essentially up to the government.
With the Foreign Office and Number 10 reportedly starting to make preparations for an invite, it is apparent that the left-wing Labour government of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is intent on getting on Mr Trump’s good side, particularly as he prepares to impose a series of tariffs throughout the world.
As Britain’s economy continues to struggle to recover from the lockdowns and other issues associated with the Chinese coronavirus crisis, in addition to decades-high levels of taxation, which were increased by £40 billion by the fledgling leftist government, the UK can ill afford a trade war with the United States.
Prime Minsiter Starmer is seemingly looking to use Trump’s affection for the Royal Family — and Britain in general — to spare the country from the U.S. tariffs expected to go up across Europe after Trump returns to power.
During his first term in office, then-President Trump often expressed support for a post-Brexit trade deal between the two nations. However, a combination of Conservative government ineptitude and the coronavirus quashed the prospect of inking an agreement before Trump left office.
It remains to be seen if Trump will be enthusiastic this time around, given the past insults from Labour government cabinet officials, including the nation’s top diplomat, Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who has so far refused to apologise for calling then-President Trump a “racist KKK and Nazi sympathiser” and a “tyrant in a toupee”. Labour also came under fire from the Trump team after it emerged that the party had dispatched operatives and activists to help the failed Kamala Harris campaign.
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