As beggars’ banquets go, this one was pretty rich.
There they sat, side-by-side, some of the wealthiest, most influential and best connected people in the world, all together at one long table inside a nearly-thousand-year-old castle. The guest of honor was in the middle of the table, wearing white tie, looking happier than ever. He was being treated like a king by an actual king.
The state dinner that King Charles III hosted for President Trump on Wednesday night at Windsor Castle seemed like a new apex for Mr. Trump: a glittering showcase of the powerful outdoing themselves to get (or remain) on the good side of a president whose second term has been marked by demonstrations of brute power. Those demonstrations have increasingly taken the form of retribution against perceived enemies at home and tattered alliances abroad.
“The bond between our two nations is indeed a remarkable one,” said Charles. “In renewing our bond tonight, we do so with unshakable trust in our friendship and in our shared commitment to independence and liberty.”
The president seemed supremely pleased by the whole thing; he didn’t look the least bit bothered when the king used his speech to gently prod about environmental issues and the need to support Ukraine.
Mr. Trump got up and cooed: “It’s a singular privilege to be the first American president welcomed here.” (Usually these dinners happen at Buckingham Palace back in London, but that old pile is undergoing renovations. Besides, Mr. Trump has already had one state dinner there, the last time he was president. And other U.S. presidents have been welcomed at the castle — including Mr. Trump in his first term — albeit not at a state dinner.)
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