By Simon Tisdall
The history lesson, finely taught and much needed by Charles III, gave the US a “tough love.” But will Trump get the message?
Of the many jokes made by King Charles during his visit to Washington, the one that recalled the decisive 18th-century Anglo-French showdown for dominance of the New World was the most poignant. Speaking at a state banquet at the White House, Charles turned to Donald Trump and said: “You recently commented, Mr. President, that if it weren’t for the United States, European countries would speak German. Dare I say, if it weren’t for us, you would speak French!”
Did Trump get it? Who knows? History, even their own, is not generally the favorite subject of most Americans. A future-oriented people, they do not dwell on the past or yearn for the illusory pleasures of former glories. While generations of Britons still wallow in nostalgia for Spitfires, Churchills, and Vera Lynns (and the defeat of the French), Americans are usually looking for new metaphorical mountains to climb. Their outlook is generally positive. Except, under Trump, it has twisted into a revived and ugly version of American “manifest destiny” imperialism.
In his calm, reserved manner, Charles had much to say about all this. Addressing Congress, he did not give Trump the harsh rebuke that many in Britain (including me) had hoped for. Given the constitutional and political constraints, it was still a courageous performance. Charles may have succeeded in temporarily easing US-UK friction. But his greatest achievement was to remind Americans, ever so gently, who they are, where they come from, and how much better they can and must do.
To put it mildly, the United States, led by its impetuous president and the Republican Party, has been out of character for some time. The antidote Charles offered was calm, a balm – and perspective. He offered a mature, aware lens through which to see, to overcome, and to look beyond the trials and tribulations of the Trump era. He articulated a faith in the United States that Americans risk losing. He spoke of unity as essential to success. He emphasized that what the United States does matters everywhere. His subtle, much-needed lesson in history may have done more than Trump ever did to make the United States feel great again.
The reaction of Democrats and many Republicans in a divided Congress was significant. Time and again, they rose together to applaud the king’s apparently sincere conviction, implied more than expressed, that the United States would get through this, come to its senses, rediscover its principles, once again aim to act as a moral force for good—his conviction that the nightmare would end, as history shows, because nightmares always end.
Remember Magna Carta? That 1215 English charter that limited the power of kings was a guiding principle for the U.S. founding fathers and has been cited at least 160 times in U.S. Supreme Court cases, Charles said. It established “the principle that executive power is subject to checks and balances.” Who could miss this clever allusion from a real king to the whims of an all-powerful pseudo-king in the White House? Democrats certainly didn’t. They stood up and cheered.
Remember the Bill of Rights of 1688, a product of the English Civil War and the struggle for parliamentary sovereignty? Parts of that text were taken literally and incorporated into the US Bill of Rights of 1791, he noted. Here was open royal support for those who fear that civil liberties in the US today are falling victim to a recycled tyranny. Remember 9/11, a quarter of a century later? NATO countries like Britain remember, Charles said. They also remember how they stood by the US. The unspoken message: appreciate the support and loyalty of the UK and your European allies. And return that support. Help Ukraine.
The king’s recollections of previous royal tours also served to refresh the collective American historical memory – and to underscore his theme: that no country, no matter how big or strong, can go it alone for long. Charles’s mother, Elizabeth II, had been a good friend to every president since Eisenhower. These ties, he suggested, reflected the deep and enduring ties between the two peoples. The US, though a successful and independent nation, remains rooted in Britain and Europe. And, he almost said, never forget that!
In some ways, it was obvious, worn-out, even a little manipulative. But the enthusiastic response in Congress and the American media suggested that Americans—with their national sense of self under daily attack, with fears about the future ever more pronounced, with nerves frayed and lives disrupted by Trump’s traumas and endless whims—did badly need to hear it. George Canning, the British foreign secretary in 1826, famously said that he “called the New World into existence to restore the balance of the Old World.” Through Charles’s memorable visit, the “Old World” returned the favor.
It’s true. Politically as much as historically, Trump’s “reign” has thrown the United States deeply off balance. Half the country seems to think it is at war with an enemy at home and with ungrateful and predatory foreign allies. The other half despairs at a president who actively undermines the democratic values and laws that rebellious settlers fought to protect 250 years ago and on which the U.S. Constitution—and its legitimacy in the world—relies. King Charles went to Washington to save…
