From a royal feast to Trump getting ripped off in Britain.
The ceremony was held in St. George’s Hall at Windsor Castle, attended by Charles III and other members of the royal family, and was attended by more than 160 guests, including political and economic officials from both countries. In his speech, Charles referred to the “historic friendship between London and Washington” and sarcastically said that the relationship between the two countries went beyond states. Trump, in a tone mixed with exaggeration, considered the banquet a sign of the “special relationship” and praised the hospitality of the British.
Behind the scenes, however, there was more significance. During Trump’s visit, it was announced that American companies and institutions would conclude a series of trade and investment contracts worth 150 billion pounds in Britain; a figure that observers in England interpreted as the real cost of the royal dinner. According to analysts, London, which is suffering from economic problems caused by Brexit, the coronavirus pandemic, and the consequences of the war in Ukraine, was able to push the American side to a heavy commitment by using the tools of symbolic diplomacy and royal ceremonies.
In contrast, the streets of London had a different atmosphere. On the same night that Windsor Castle was adorned with courtly decorum and classical music, thousands of protesters in the city center chanted slogans against Trump, calling him a “racist and autocratic leader.” The protesters stressed that the economic benefits of such deals would ultimately accrue to the elite and a narrow class, while ordinary society would not benefit.