Photo: Getty Images Europe
It was pretty hard to see at least a small portion of President Trump’s official state visit to the United Kingdom on Wednesday and not be impressed by the spectacle. From Royal Guardsmen and Yeomen of the Ward decked out in red and black uniforms to the dining hall table in Windsor Castle that stretches out for seemingly hundreds of feet, the British sense of tradition definitely is something to behold. Clearly it made an impression on the 47th President, who is friendly with King Charles and seemed to enjoy every moment of the day. WOR White House correspondent Jon Decker was in London to cover the historic trip. He appeared on 710 WOR’s Mendte in the Morning program to describe the ceremony, as Trump became the first US President to have two state dinners in his honor across the pond.
Decker told host Larry Mendte that the Brits clearly have raised the bar when it comes to impressing visiting dignitaries: “As I’m watching it all play out, I thought to myself, if any other country around the world has a state visit welcoming President Trump to their country, it’s going to be hard to top what the U.K. did yesterday. That was pretty remarkable, concluding with that state dinner banquet that was held at Windsor Castle. All of it just so remarkable, and you could tell by the President’s remarks that he delivered after King Charles spoke that he was so impressed by what they did to roll out the red carpet for him and First Lady Melania Trump.”
But today is another day, and that means pomp and pageantry are replaced by business and negotiation, as Trump meets with Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Decker says the state dinner, however, helped grease the wheels for the conversation the two world leaders had today: “The charm offensive has worked so far. The country in the world that has the lowest tariff rates- the U.K… and I think it’s ultimately helped out in terms of what the U.K. is trying to do in an economic sense, in terms of trade with the United States.”
Photo Credit: Getty Images