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Official visits by any US president to any capital or country in the world are a pure headache for security forces, governments and even ordinary people, whose travel plans are disrupted by demonstrations or the fanfare that typically accompanies such visits.
As a journalist, I have been in the midst of such events and all their inconvenience a few times. But this second state visit of US President Donald Trump to the UK — the first time a democratically elected head of state has received such a privilege twice — is planned in a way that will fete the visitor, while trying to keep him out of sight as much as possible, by design as well as by circumstance.
During Trump’s previous state visit in 2019, when the late Queen Elizabeth II hosted the US president at Buckingham Palace, protesters lined the surrounding streets. This time, Trump will get a grand welcome from King Charles and Queen Camilla behind the high walls of Windsor Castle — as Buckingham Palace is undergoing repairs — and will enjoy the usual carriage procession, guard of honor, troop inspections and a private lunch hosted by the monarch, followed later by a showpiece state banquet with about 150 carefully chosen guests.
Foreign leaders traditionally pay their respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey in London and address Parliament, but as Parliament is currently in recess for party conference season, questions are rightly being raised as to whether the UK deliberately timed the visit to avoid a potentially tricky Trump address to lawmakers.
Questions are being raised as to whether the UK deliberately timed the visit to avoid a potentially tricky Trump address to lawmakers
Mohamed Chebaro
No one should doubt that, despite the facade of normality, neither the UK nor the US are at a juncture that emits certainty or confidence about their destiny or role in today’s world compared to previous eras. If anything, the two countries seem to be standing at a crossroads domestically and internationally, having abandoned the complementary roles they played and through which they upheld their special mission: that of spearheading the promotion of democracy, liberty, freedom and stability in a volatile world.
Trump’s visit could be, at best, a distraction for Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his besieged government. In addition to internal Labour Party discord, Starmer and his ministers are grappling with many policy challenges concerning economic growth, the National Health Service and immigration. This all comes against the backdrop of the meteoric rise of the far right, which has, encouraged from across the Atlantic, led calls to “Unite the Kingdom,” as seen during the violent demonstrations that descended on London last weekend, flagging the rise of populism and ultra-right sentiment, which are likely to further divide Britain.
Despite the pageantry of Trump’s visit, the deals signed — such as agreements on technology and civil nuclear energy — and maybe the chance to lift the US’ steel tariffs as part a much-vaunted trade deal, the British government’s soft power alone is unlikely to tilt the US president or his country away from their chosen domestic and global positioning.
Trump’s supporters like to hold him up as a sort of uncrowned monarch and he will revel in the royal color afforded him by King Charles and his state. But his record since coming to power has left many in the UK and the rest of Europe ill at ease.
In the minds of many here, there is a pressing question as to whether Trump will, after his visit, be able to stop the wars in Ukraine and Gaza that he has repeatedly pledged to end. After eight months in power, the US president looks increasingly averse to using his influence, as both these wars are escalating. Trump looks increasingly unconcerned, appeasing the aggressors of both conflicts, regardless of what Britain or the EU say. The recent Russian drone incursions into the airspace of NATO members risk transforming the Ukraine war in the same way that last week’s Israeli strike on Qatar further eroded US and overall Western influence with important allies in the Gulf.
The UK’s soft power alone is unlikely to tilt the president or his country away from their chosen domestic and global positioning
Mohamed Chebaro
No one is arguing against the UK’s efforts to embrace Trump, but one has to be careful of the limitations and futility of this exercise, as his and his administration’s actions over the past eight months cannot be hidden.
The world is changing fast and however the UK spins its ties with the US during Trump’s visit, the mantra of a “special relationship” is dead. Instead, London and Washington ought to look for a new transactional deal that secures the interests of both sides. This means London abandoning its blind faith in a special transatlantic relationship, which the optimists hope to resuscitate. Meanwhile, the pessimists believe Trumpism is likely to outlive his term in office, so they are rushing to search for other alliances that will safeguard the nation and its economy despite the icy Atlantic winds battering the UK and other Western nations.
Starmer and Trump will not be able to undo the historic failures of international leadership that are becoming all too common in this fractured 21st-century world. These failures include the post-9/11 war on terror and the 2003 US-British decision to invade Iraq. There are also the failures to effectively address the fallout of the financial crisis of 2008 and the climate emergency. The Russia-Ukraine and Gaza wars are of epic magnitude in comparison and many fear a failure to end them will grind the world order toward a form of anarchy, but one that is mandated by states.
King Charles and the government led by Starmer have the impossible task of sounding the alarm bells about such calamities from the wings while welcoming the leader of the largest superpower in the world. They also need to ask themselves if classic leverage still works and whether their diplomatic and personal flattery and pampering of their guest is likely to yield anything.
- Mohamed Chebaro is a British-Lebanese journalist with more than 25 years’ experience covering war, terrorism, defense, current affairs and diplomacy.