President Donald Trump waved off King Charles’ charm offensive, suggesting Friday that the royal visit did not impress him enough to change his mind about NATO.
Trump was asked on the White House’s South Lawn as he departed for Florida whether the King had been persuasive on NATO.
‘No, no,’ Trump answered.
The response came on the heels of the President announcing punishing tariffs on the European Union on automobiles, which will impact 23 NATO members.
‘The King and I had a great – he’s just a great person. He’s a high-quality person. I love the job he did in Congress. He actually got the Democrats to stand,’ the President then said.
During Tuesday’s joint address to Congress, the King gently pushed back on Trump’s complaints about NATO.
Trump called the historic military alliance a ‘paper tiger’ and the members ‘cowards’ for not volunteering to patrol the Strait of Hormuz amid the Iran war.
The White House didn’t give allies a heads-up before embarking on a bombing campaign of Iran with Israel in late February.
President Donald Trump delivered a ‘no, no’ when asked Friday if King Charles had made his change his mind on NATO. He’s been extremely critical of the alliance since the advent of the Iran war
President Donald Trump (center right) points at King Charles and Queen Camilla (left) at an official departure ceremony at the White House Thursday morning, alongside First Lady Melania Trump (right)
The President also claimed that NATO allies wouldn’t be there to support the US if called on.
The only time NATO’s Article 5 has been utilized was in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks on the US.
King Charles referenced that in his address.
‘We answered the call together, as our people have done so for more than a century, shoulder to shoulder through two world wars, the Cold War, Afghanistan and moments that have defined our shared security,’ the King said.
The British monarch also asked the US Congress to continue to fund Ukraine, saying ‘that same unyielding resolve is needed for the defense of Ukraine and her most courageous people.’
On the South Lawn on Friday, Trump also continued to lob criticism at the previous administration for giving Ukraine military equipment after the country was invaded by Russia in February 2022.
‘What happened is, Biden came in like a stupid fool, and he gave a lot of what we had to Ukraine,’ Trump said.
He had been asked about whether the US had enough ‘firepower’ to continue with Operation Epic Fury, the military operation in Iran.
King Charles (left) turned on the charm at a state dinner with President Donald Trump (right) that was held after his congressional address, in which he touted the NATO alliance and asked Congress to help fund Ukraine
‘And $350 billion they spent. We don’t do that. Everybody has to pay. The European Union pays us, but Biden didn’t get money. He got nothing, he got nothing, but he gave a lot of inventory away,’ Trump complained.
The President said goodbye to King Charles and Queen Camilla on Thursday morning after two days of events in Washington, before the royals spent Wednesday in New York.
During Tuesday night’s state dinner, which took place after the King’s address to Congress, Charles turned up the charm, cracking jokes about the countries’ shared history.
The King called the East Room dinner, which was staged to look like an English garden, a ‘very considerable improvement on the Boston Tea Party.’
King Charles also called attention to the President’s ‘readjustments’ to the East Wing, which is no longer standing.
‘I’m sorry to say that we British, of course, made our own small attempt at real estate redevelopment of the White House in 1814,’ the King joked.
He also gifted Trump a gold bell from the ship, the HMS Trump.
On the South Lawn, Trump commended both King Charles and Queen Camilla.
‘He’s a wonderful person, she’s a wonderful lady, a wonderful Queen, and we had a good time,’ the President said.
