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The Situation Room

President Trump Welcomes King Charles. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired April 28, 2026 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[11:00:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: The president and the king are now going to inspect the troops. This is part of the formal arrival ceremony for the king.

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PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: After the inspection of the troops, you'll see troop in review, which is something that is added this year. A lot of what we're going to see is rooted in tradition dating back to the 1800s, but President Trump wanted to add a little bit of his own touch to some of the military features we're seeing play out.

And then we're going to hear from President Trump for some live remarks. Of course, we'll carry this live.

BLITZER: Our presidential historian, Tim Naftali, is watching all of this.

The history is dramatic, Tim.

TIM NAFTALI, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Oh, it's very -- it's very dramatic.

Keep in mind that, though there is a cease-fire in place, we are at war at the moment. And so, in a sense, King Charles is visiting us at a time of war, which may explain the amount of military symbolism that President Trump has chosen to include in this visit.

I think the other thing worth noting is that King Charles looks very healthy, but King Charles is still not 100 percent well. And I think he is mindful of the importance of doing everything he can to lay the ground for a successful monarchy for his son William.

And I suspect, although he's not -- and hopefully not always thinking fatalistically, but I suspect the one thing he wants to pass on to his son is a strong relationship between London and Washington. It's a relationship that shaped his life, King Charles' life.

King Charles, as Prince Charles, came to the United States and, in fact, he was a visitor during the Nixon administration, and there was some talk of him perhaps spending some time with one of President Nixon's daughters, Tricia.

The fact of the matter is that King Charles' life has been shaped by this special relationship. And I know he wants to -- I suspect -- I don't know for sure, but I suspect he wants to pass that on to William. So that might be in his mind at the moment.

BROWN: All right, I want to go to Kate Williams as we watch all of this play out.

Kate is a royal historian. It was almost 250 years ago, Kate, that the United States announced its independence from Great Britain, and the relationship has endured now to this point. But when you look at it and the geopolitics, it is a strained relationship.

Let's listen in, actually, to President Trump.

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[11:05:00]

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The president of the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States, Donald J. Trump.

(CHEERING)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Thank you very much.

(APPLAUSE)

(CHEERING)

TRUMP: Thank you very much, everybody. What a beautiful British day this is.

(LAUGHTER)

TRUMP: And it really is.

Your Majesties, members of the British delegation, friends, service members, and distinguished guests, welcome to the beautiful White House. Great honor to have you.

Melania and I will never forget the spectacular honor Your Majesties showed us during our extraordinary visit to Windsor Castle last September. Now it is our tremendous privilege to host you. And you're going to have a wonderful short stay, but stay nevertheless.

Then you're going over to Congress, and you're going to make a speech that's going to make everybody very envious of that beautiful accent of yours, very elegant.

(LAUGHTER)

TRUMP: He's a very elegant man.

Here in the shadows of monuments to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, honoring the British king might seem an ironic beginning to our celebration of 250 years of American independence, but, in fact, no tribute could be more appropriate.

Long before Americans had a nation or a Constitution, we first had a culture, a character, and a creed. Before we ever proclaimed our independence, Americans carried within us the rarest of gifts, moral courage, and it came from a small, but mighty kingdom from across the sea.

For nearly two centuries before the revolution, this land was settled and forged by men, women who bore in their souls the blood and noble spirit of the British. Here on a wild and untamed continent, they set loose the ancient English love of liberty and the Great Britain's distinctive sense of glory, destiny, and pride.

And that's what it is, glory, destiny, and pride. The American patriots who pledged their lives to independence in 1776 were the heirs to this majestic inheritance. Their veins ran with Anglo-Saxon courage. Their hearts beat with an English faith in standing firm for what is right, good, and true.

In recent years, we have often heard it said that America is merely an idea, but the cause of freedom did not simply appear as an intellectual invention of 1776. The American founding was the culmination of hundreds of years of thought, struggle, sweat, blood, and sacrifice on both sides of the Atlantic.

Fate drew a long arc from the meadow at Runnymede to the streets of Philadelphia that ran through the lives of people born and bred on the British code that no man should be denied either justice or right.

American patriots today can sing my country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty only because our colonial ancestors first sang, God save the king.

We see today a living symbol of this centuries-old bond just a few dozen feet to the left where I stand. There, Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth, an incredible woman who I had the privilege of getting to know, Queen Elizabeth II, very, very special woman who is very greatly missed on both sides of that mighty Atlantic, long ago planted a young tree.

[11:10:22]

It was a very young and beautiful tree. And look at it now. It's tripled in size and tripled in strength, very much as our nations have even more than tripled. Like our nation itself, it was laid with British hands, but grew in American soil.

Today, it stands tall and proud, reaching ever higher. And, this morning, it reminds us that the mightiest of trees, like the greatest of nations, must be anchored by the strongest and deepest of roots. In the centuries since we won our independence, Americans have had no

closer friends than the British. We share that same root. We speak the same language. We hold the same values. And, together, our warriors have defended the same extraordinary civilization under twin banners of red, white, and blue.

My wonderful mother, Mary MacLeod, Mary MacLeod, was born in Stornoway, Scotland, the Hebrides, and that's what they call very serious Scotland. There's no question about it. Some places, they say, well, it wasn't really Scotland. The Hebrides, that's real serious Scotland. That's where they had their greatest of warriors, their greatest of warriors.

She came to America at 19, met my incredible father. We loved him so much. We all loved him. We loved her. We loved him, Fred. And they were married for 63 years. And excuse me, if you don't mind. That's a record we won't be able to match, darling. I'm sorry.

(LAUGHTER)

TRUMP: Just not going to work out that way. We will do well, but we're not going to do that well, 63 years.

(LAUGHTER)

TRUMP: And my mother, I just see it so clearly. She loved -- and I told the king this. She loved the royal family. And she loved the queen.

And any time the queen was involved in a ceremony or anything, my mother would be glued to the television. And she'd say: "Look, Donald. Look how beautiful that is."

She really did love the family. But I also remember her saying very clearly: "Charles, look, young Charles, he's so cute."

(LAUGHTER)

TRUMP: My mother. My mother had a crush on Charles.

(LAUGHTER)

TRUMP: Can you believe it? Amazing how -- I wonder what she's thinking right now.

(LAUGHTER)

TRUMP: But beneath those beautiful flags eight decades ago, Prime Minister Winston Churchill and President Franklin Roosevelt famously met on a ship in the North Atlantic to outline a vision for the free world after World War II.

That understanding of our nation's unique bond and role in history is the essence of our special relationship, and we hope it will always remain that way. The ship where the two great leaders met was called the Prince of Wales, the very title that His Majesty the king held longer than any other individual in British history.

And he held it with great pride and respect. It's said that, when Prime Minister Churchill first met this future king many decades ago, he was so impressed, he made the statement: "He is so young to think so much and so well."

And the bust of your great prime minister rests proudly again in the Oval Office. We're very proud to bring it back. We brought it back.

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TRUMP: Throughout His Majesty's life, the world has witnessed that same thoughtfulness which first struck Britain's greatest prime minister.

His Majesty's intellect, passion, and devotion have been long, really long a blessing, blessing to the British people, but not only to his own country, but to the cherished bond between the United States and the United Kingdom.

[11:15:08]

And I am very certain that it will continue that way long into the future. In a few hours, His Majesty will stand in the heart of the United States Capitol, as the very first British king ever to address a joint session of the United States Congress.

So, he's going to be addressing Congress, and I'm going to be watching. I was thinking of going, but they said, I don't know. That might be a step too far. I would love to go. It's not supposed to be protocol, but I would love to be with you.

But, there, the direct descendant of King George III will speak to the direct successor of the very body that gathered in Independence Hall on July 4, 1776. If John Adams and George Washington or the king's fifth great-grandfather could see that site, they might be absolutely shocked, but probably only for a moment.

Surely, they would be delighted that the wounds of war healed into the most cherished friendship. Think of that very, very long ago difficult war, and yet those wounds did indeed heal into the most cherished of friendships, most cherished.

They would be moved beyond words to know that the soldiers who once called each other Redcoats and Yankees became the Tommies and the G.I.s who together saved the free world as brothers in arms and brothers in eternity, and nobody fought better together than us.

If they could see us today, our ancestors would surely be filled with awe and pride that the Anglo-American revolution in human freedom was never, ever extinguished, but carried forward across centuries, across oceans, and across history, until it became a fire that lit the entire world.

So, today, we look back on 250 years. Let us remember what has made our countries the two most exceptional nations the world has ever known, and, together, let us go forward with even stronger resolve to carry on our sacred devotion to liberty and to the traditions of excellence that have been our shared gift of all mankind.

Your Majesties, thank you once again for making this important visit. We are so honored.

May God forever bless the United Kingdom, Great Britain, and Northern Ireland, and may God bless the United States of America.

Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. Thank you.

(CHEERING)

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right shoulder, arms!

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ladies and gentlemen, please rise if you are able for the conclusion of the ceremony and departure of the official party.

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BLITZER: Our White House correspondent, Alayna Treene, is joining us right now.

Alayna, a really beautiful ceremony unfolding at the White House, wrapping up just now. The president spoke for only about 12 minutes or so. I thought he was going to go much longer, but he spoke about the beautiful relationship over these many, many decades between the United States and the United Kingdom.

"No closer friends than the British," he said, and he said he wanted to make sure that that most cherished friendship continues. It's been going on, he said, for so many years.

There have been some strains, political strains, in recent months, though, between the Trump administration and the government of prime minister Keir Starmer, right?

[11:20:04]

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Oh, absolutely, one, I would say, going back to something we saw play out actually when President Donald Trump was visiting Windsor in September.

I was there covering that event. The president actually brought it up in his remarks just now, saying how much he had enjoyed that visit to Windsor Castle. But I'd remind you, at that time, there was a lot of controversy over the ties to Epstein that the U.K. ambassador to the U.S. had had. So that was kind of a scandal dominating that visit. And then, this

time, of course, you have some of the tensions between President Donald Trump and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

But, Wolf, I do want to get into what we heard from him, because I would note that that was a very welcoming and laudatory speech we heard from the president. You pointed it out as well, a very short speech, to include, one that is not very typical for President Donald Trump.

But he noted -- he had a couple jokes in there. He noted at one point that it's a bit ironic to have the king and the queen and the royals visiting the White House as they're gearing up to celebrate America's 250th birthday this summer.

But he also talked a lot about just the appreciation and admiration that he has for the royals and specifically invoked his mother. He spoke about his mother, who had grown up in Scotland, and talked about her love for the royals.

It's something we have heard President Donald Trump reference many times, and so very much a nice speech and one that did focus on the special relationship that these two countries have and did not really delve into any of those tensions that I mentioned, Wolf, that you had asked me about.

And, look, he -- King Charles is going to be here for a bit today. They have a couple more of -- events, some more pageantry to get through. And then the two -- or the two men, at least, are going to be meeting behind closed doors in the Oval Office.

And I do think that will be an opportunity to see how the king really kind of is deployed to -- for diplomacy here and potentially to smooth over some of the tensions we have seen between these two countries, particularly in recent weeks around the war in Iran, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, that's a good point.

And none of that came up, which is appropriate, during the president's welcoming remarks just now when he was talking about this great, great relationship between the U.S. and the U.K. And he even made the point that, when the king addresses this joint meeting of conflict later this afternoon, he really would have loved to have been there, but protocol prevented him from doing so.

But he said he will watch it on television, which was a nice gesture on his part.

BROWN: Absolutely.

You see President Trump talking to King Charles right now. They are reviewing 800 military personnel. And then, after this, there will be a receiving line and a bilateral meeting. There will also be an exchange of gifts, so a lot ahead here, a very busy day at the White House before we're going to hear from King Charles for this joint meeting of Congress. Max Foster, I want to go to you. You're an anchor and correspondent

for CNN. And you have watched the royal family closely. This was quite the production the White House put on for King Charles and Queen Camilla. And the speech from the president was really rooted in a lot of nostalgia. It's not your typical speech from President Trump.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, no.

And I have to say, noting right now, what we're seeing is a review of the troops for a foreign head of state, which has never happened in this way from the balcony for any visiting head of state, so a true honor for the king here.

And I think the speech from the president would have been music to his ears, because it's speaking to so many elements that the king will reflect in his speech to Congress later on, a reference to Magna Carta, which was the original democratic law in the United Kingdom and what U.S. law was originally based on.

The president referred to that. The king referred to that. And that is showing this idea that the -- so much of what is in America was rooted in what the Brits brought here, but then also this celebration that America effectively beat the Brits away.

So there's kind of an irony here, and the president referenced that, the irony of celebrating a defeat. But that's very much what the king wants to do whilst he was here.

I have to say, one element I found really interesting in the president's speech was his reference to his mother. And as we try and understand the president's fascination with British royalty, I did always -- we were aware that the president's mother was a big fan of the queen, and whether or not that would translate to King Charles when he took the throne.

And it was interesting, I thought, that his mother used to talk about a young Charles, how cute he was and how she had a crush on Charles. And then the president said: I wonder what she's thinking now.

So, this idea that his mother might be looking down and seeing her son as president of the United States next to King Charles, I think it helps us understand really that fascination in the U.K. from the president and why that is so useful to the British government right now, because -- establishing those fractious relations between the two countries.

[11:25:21]

BLITZER: Yes, a good point, indeed. We learned a lot about Mary MacLeod, the mother of the president of the United States, and her love for the royal family. It was really a nice, nice element in the president's remarks.

There's going to be a flyover over the White House fairly soon. We're going to be watching that very closely. We'll stand by for that.

Kate Williams, the royal -- hold on a second, Kate. Here's the flyover. Let's listen and watch.

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BLITZER: I was about to bring in Kate Williams, our royal historian.

Kate, I just want to point out, as someone who spent seven years covering the White House, as I did years ago during the Bill Clinton administration, it was -- it's extremely unusual to have any planes flying over the White House. They usually don't allow it for security reasons.

But to see that flyover over the White House, it's a nice gesture on the part of this administration and the U.S. to underscore this really close relation -- historic relationship between the U.S. and the U.K.

Kate, how are the president's remarks going to be reviewed, assessed in the United Kingdom?

KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL HISTORIAN: Yes, Wolf, I mean, it really has been spectacular, the pageantry.

Seeing these American Revolutionary soldiers, the uniforms, spectacular to see, and what an incredible tribute both to the American Revolutionary War, to those brave souls in the 18th century, and also to the current serving service men and women, not just in the United States and the United Kingdom, but across the world.

That was a speech, just as Alayna was saying there, which was laudatory. There was much compliment to Charles being elegant, also being someone that Trump said his mother had been rather in love with, and also to the United Kingdom, and calling, you think, both the United Kingdom and the United States have the most exceptional nations with sacred devotion to liberty, and also so much to the actual idea of America coming out of Revolutionary War hi Britain.

So, obviously, the rev -- the war was a battle, but in terms of what President Trump is saying here, he's talking about how they grew together, how -- talking about the tree that Elizabeth II planted, that that tree was laid by American hands, and it was a British tree, but it was created in American soil.

This idea that -- as he said, that the sweet land of liberty could only be sung because our colonial ancestors had once sung God save the king, I mean, this is incredibly unique, incredibly complementary to the United Kingdom, to the idea of the revolutionary struggle.

George III, King Charles' great-great-great-great-grandfather, was called a tyrant who destroyed the country, destroyed the people, in the Declaration of Independence. So this is incredibly significant.

It's clear that President Trump is making all the effort, pulling out all the stops to be complimentary in historical terms and in modern terms, really, as he said, that he hopes the special relationship will continue forever and ever.

BROWN: Yes, absolutely. He also put out a TRUTH Social saying he always wanted to live in

Buckingham Palace when there was an article that came out linking him with the king, some lineage there.

So it's very clear that the president loves this. He loves the pomp and circumstance. He loves a royal family. And you could really get the sense in his speech that he felt like he was making his mother proud in this moment, hosting the royals there at the White House with all of this.

And I want to bring in, for more perspective, CNN political analyst and historian Leah Wright Rigueur.

What has stood out to you so far, Leah?

LEAH WRIGHT RIGUEUR, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST AND HISTORIAN: So I think the biggest thing that stood out to me is how restrained the actual speech is, by Trump's standards.

It was a very short speech. It was a very laudatory speech. It was a very celebratory and warm and welcoming speech, but there were very few riffs off-script. Trump is pretty much famous or infamous for going off script, for talking, for using personal anecdotes.

And that wasn't the case today. He very much stuck to these stories that clearly had been thought about, had been curated.