Has Trump been taking inspiration from the royals?

One of the objections to the military parade in Washington, DC last Saturday – supposedly to mark the 250th birthday of the US Army – is that it was a breach of democratic norms. The real reason it took place, say Donald Trump's critics, was because he wanted to celebrate his 79th birthday with a display of military might – which is 'what dictators do', according to a general who advised him against it.
Trump's opponents gleefully pointed out that the number of attendees – around 200,000 – was dwarfed by the millions who took part in simultaneous 'No Kings' protests in dozens of American cities, a reference to his habit of describing himself as a 'King'. The theme of the coverage in the left-wing media was that this vainglorious spectacle revealed Trump's megalomaniacal desire to appoint himself president for life, which risks turning the US into a banana republic.
Yet I spent Saturday at the Trooping the Colour, the annual display of Britain's military prowess that takes place on the monarch's official birthday and which was surely the inspiration for Trump's parade. OK, there were no tanks, unlike in Washington, but some of the guardsmen were carrying guns and several antique cannons trundled past, pulled by horses.
In the UK, the Trooping the Colour is not generally seen as a symbol of our having become a 'dictatorship' or a sign that democratic norms have been abandoned. On the contrary, it's a charming bit of military pageantry which conjures up an image of a unified, stable constitutional monarchy.
Perhaps the mistake Trump made was not copying the original more faithfully. He had bleachers set up all along the parade route so members of the public could watch, allowing his mean-spirited critics to point out how sparsely attended it was. At our version, the only stadium seating was in Horse Guards Parade and it was packed to the gills with people who'd paid for the privilege, such as Caroline and me. (I bought two tickets, having won the right to do so in a House of Lords ballot.) The reaction of the crowd was exactly what Trump would have wanted: people oohing and aahing at the beautiful horses, leaping to their feet whenever the national anthem was played and cheering as the King and Queen arrived in a horse-drawn carriage. Come to think of it, that's exactly how the President and First Lady should have made their entrance.
Admittedly, there were some demonstrators waving 'Not My King' flags – would they prefer President Starmer to be our head of state? – but their pipsqueak protest was drowned out by the lusty cheers of people thronging the Mall to watch the Red Arrows, a sight that would have warmed Trump's heart. Maybe the President's staff were looking on in envy and realising that the secret of a well-attended parade is limiting it to a smaller footprint.
Another advantage of holding a ceremony like this in a square is that the monarch – whether real or pretend – can inspect the troops. King Charles did it on foot this year, just as he did last year, but before he was diagnosed with cancer he inspected them from on top of a splendid black stallion, which is surely something that would appeal to Trump. Or, if he's not comfortable on horseback, he could do it from a golf cart.
If the President intends to repeat the idea next year, possibly on 4 July to mark the 250th anniversary of the Republic, he might think about hiring the UK's ceremonial operations planning team, which is responsible for organising all major state military parades in the capital and consists of just five senior officers. Anyone contrasting the two events couldn't help noticing how shambolic the American version was, with soldiers ambling along the route looking slightly bemused. I spotted a drone operator holding a drone above his head, looking for all the world like a ten-year-old boy pretending to fly a toy plane. I'm not sure that's going to strike the fear of God into the People's Liberation Army. It also didn't help that Trump asked several of his favourite companies – Palantir, Coinbase, Oracle – to display their logos, which made them look like sponsors at a football game. I daresay his aides had to talk him out of a half-time show featuring the Village People.
In one respect, though, it might be better if the Yanks didn't take a leaf out of our book. King Charles and Prince William were dressed in Coldstream Guards uniforms, complete with medals. I don't think it would have enhanced Trump's authority or added to the dignity of the occasion if he and Barron had turned up in full military regalia.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Reuters

an hour ago

• Reuters

US judge blocks slashing of universities' federal funding from National Science Foundation

WASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) - A federal judge on Friday blocked the National Science Foundation from sharply cutting research funding provided to universities in the latest legal setback to efforts by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to slash government support of research at major academic institutions.

Reuters

an hour ago

• Reuters

Trump says he may have to change his mind about firing Fed chair Powell

WASHINGTON, June 20 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday he may have to change his mind about firing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. Trump made the comment in a lengthy social media post criticizing the Federal Reserve's decision to not lower interest rates. "I don't know why the Board doesn't override (Powell)," Trump wrote. "Maybe, just maybe, I'll have to change my mind about firing him? But regardless, his Term ends shortly," Trump added. "I fully understand that my strong criticism of him makes it more difficult for him to do what he should be doing, lowering Rates, but I've tried it all different ways," Trump said.

Daily Mirror

an hour ago

• Daily Mirror

Race to stop WW3 amid fears Israel-Iran conflict could spread as bombs rain down

World leaders are trying to prevent an all-out war in the Middle East as tensions between and Iran show no sign of stopping - and Donald Trump weighs whether to get involved A major diplomatic push to stop all-out Middle East war was underway on Friday as both sides rained down deadly missiles on each other. But Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said before a Geneva meeting of European ministers that Israel 's attacks on his country were 'war crimes' and that Tehran had the right to defend itself. And meanwhile a spat between Israel's ambassador to the UN Danny Danon and his Iranian counterpart Amir Iravani broke out at the Un Security Council. Danny Danon stormed at the New York meeting: 'How dare you? - You are not a diplomat. You are a wolf.' ‌ ‌ And he said of Iran: 'It is a war machine - all over the world. We do not apologise for striking Iran's nuclear sites.' Separately Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi was heading for urgent diplomacy talks with European ministers, including UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy. As he made his way to Geneva, Abbas Araghchi spoke to the press as at least four Israeli cities were hit by blasts from Tehran's latest missile onslaught. Araghchi said: 'We have clearly said that there is no room for talking until this aggression stops.' Later he accused America of 'betrayal' as he spoke to European ministers in Geneva, saying: 'We were attacked in the midst of an ongoing diplomatic process. "We were supposed to meet with the Americans on 15 June to craft a very promising agreement for peaceful resolution of the issues fabricated over our peaceful nuclear programme. It was a betrayal of diplomacy and an unprecedented blow to the foundations of international law.' In New York Israeli ambassador Danny Danon hit back at his Iranian counterpart furiously that Tehran had a regime that chants: 'Death to Israel, death to America, death to England and Israel is stopping this.' And he said Tehran had 'lied to the International Energy Agency.' He added: 'While the Ayatollah shouts death to America and death Israel many here ignored it. This hypocrisy would allow Iran to get as far as it has,' in its nuclear programme. He added: 'It allowed Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, militia in Iraq.' ‌ Earlier Iranian bombs hit multiple cities including Tel Aviv, Haifa, Beersheba and Negev, sending locals diving for cover and causing grey smoke in the air above communities. It is believed Tehran's latest onslaught included as many as 39 missiles and at least one of the weapons may have been a cluster bomb. In one attack the city of Beersheba was hit by multiple impacts indicating that Tehran may be using ballistic missile carrying cluster weapons. It followed as many as 60 Israeli warplanes in waves targeting sites throughout Iran including the capital as the march towards major war failed to ease off. US President Donald Trump is weighing up whether to launch US warplanes at Iran and join Israel's attacks on Tehran's nuclear programme. Before his flight, Araghchi said on Iranian state television that his country was "not seeking negotiations with anyone" as long as Israel's attacks continued. ‌ He also accused the U.S. of collaborating with Israel, noting that Trump regularly used "we" in social media posts and interviews talking about the attacks on Iran. He added: "It is the Americans who want talks. "They've sent messages several times - very serious ones - but we made it explicitly clear to them that as long as this aggression and invasion continue, there is absolutely no room for talk or diplomacy. We are engaged in legitimate self-defense, and this defense will not stop under any circumstances." ‌ UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK is arranging charter flights to return British nationals from Israel once Israeli airspace re-opens, the foreign secretary has said. David Lammy confirmed the government was working with Israel to provide flights out of Tel Aviv airport. Israeli airspace is closed due to the ongoing conflict with Iran. The statement came as Lammy arrived in Geneva for talks with Iran, in the hopes of negotiating an agreement on Tehran's nuclear programme. ‌ French President Emmanuel Macron said European diplomats in Geneva will make a "comprehensive, diplomatic and technical offer of negotiation" to Iran, as a key response to the "threat" represented by Iran's nuclear program. He added: "No one can seriously believe that this threat can be met with Israel's current operations alone. We need to regain control on (Iran's nuclear) program through technical expertise and negotiation." And former UK ambassador to Iran Sir Richard Dalton said that there was "no imminent threat" to Israel from Iran. He said strongly opposed the "appalling and unacceptable" rhetoric that Iran has used about Israel for many years. ‌ But he added: "Decades of tolerance of Israeli defiance of international law has cemented Israeli belief that they are untouchable. Whatever their actions, they have a sense of impunity." When asked about Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium - which is close to weapons-grade and something they have refused to explain for several years - the expert said: "They've done that in order to put leverage on the international community to revert to the deal which was working, and which President Trump foolishly scrapped in 2018. It was a highly questionable decision to do that". ‌ Iran had previously agreed to limit its uranium enrichment and allow international inspectors in to its nuclear sites under a 2015 deal with the U.S., France, China, Russia, Britain and Germany in exchange for sanctions relief and other provisions. After Trump pulled the U.S. unilaterally out of the deal during his last term Iran began enriching uranium to higher levels and limiting access to its facilities. Israel said it conducted airstrikes into Friday morning in Iran with more than 60 aircraft hitting what it said were industrial sites to manufacture missiles. It also said it hit the headquarters of Iran's Organization of Defensive Innovation and Research, known by its acronym in Farsi, SPND. It carried out airstrikes around Kermanshah and Tabriz in western Iran, where the military said 25 fighter jets struck "missile storage and launch infrastructure components.' Israeli military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin said: "We are strengthening our air control in the region and advancing our air offensive. We have more sites to strike in Tehran, western Iran and other places." ‌ Israeli airstrikes also reached into the city of Rasht on the Caspian Sea early Friday. The Israeli military had warned the public to flee the area around Rasht's Industrial City, southwest of the city's downtown. In Israel, the paramedic service Magen David Adom said Iranian missiles struck a residential area in southern Israel causing damage to buildings, including one six-story building. They have provided medical treatment to five people with minor injuries such as bruises, smoke inhalation, and anxiety, it said. ‌ On Thursday, at least 80 patients and medical workers were wounded in a strike on the Soroka Medical Center in the southern city of Beersheba. After Iran hit a hospital in Beersheba Israeli defence minister Israel Katz threatened Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei , saying Israel's military "has been instructed and knows that in order to achieve all of its goals, this man absolutely should not continue to exist." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he trusted that Trump would "do what's best for America." Speaking from the rubble and shattered glass around the hospital, he added: "I can tell you that they're already helping a lot." War between Israel and Iran erupted June 13, with Israeli airstrikes targeting nuclear and military sites, top generals and nuclear scientists. At least 657 people, including 263 civilians, have been killed in Iran and more than 2,000 wounded, according to a Washington-based Iranian human rights group. Iran retaliated by firing 450 missiles and 1,000 drones at Israel. At least 24 people in Israel have been killed and hundreds wounded. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes. But it is the only non-nuclear-weapon state to enrich uranium up to 60%, a short, technical step away from weapons-grade levels of 90%.