Sky News was brought to a halt for a breaking bulletin, as correspondent Mark Stone shared US president Donald Trump’s true feelings about King Charles after the UK-US state visit. A banner flashed up at the bottom of the screen reading: “Breaking news – US president speaks to Sky News about royal visit”, as Stone spoke live from Washington DC.
He explained: “Look, it’s worth pointing out that [Trump] picks up the phone and he does it quite regularly with reporters in the United States, and increasingly beyond as well – that is his nature. So we thought it would be a good idea to get his sense of how this state visit has gone. Just after he bid farewell to the King and Queen at the South Portico, I spoke to him.
“As he has said publicly and as his face demonstrates, he loves the Royal Family, and he loved this trip. He clearly thinks that every part of it went very, very well indeed. These are the images of the farewell that took place on the South Lawn an hour or two ago. I asked him about the trip itself, he said, ‘The King’s just left, he’s a fantastic guy’, and he heaped praise on the Queen as well.”
Stone confronted Trump on the King’s “pointed” speech to Congress, explaining: “I asked him about the speech to Congress, he said, ‘I thought it was fantastic, it was a brilliant speech, it was delivered beautifully with that beautiful accent that he’s got.
“From everyone there was a standing ovation, I thought it was fantastic in all respects’.
“I pushed the president on the slightly pointed nature of this speech – it was a very carefully crafted speech, it was a masterclass in diplomacy, because within it the subtext was pretty critical of Trump. I’m not sure whether he chose to ignore that, because he likes the King so much, or whether he didn’t recognise it.
“In response to my question, that there was an emphasis on this speech on alliances, partnerships, the importance of America remaining at the heart of NATO, the president simply said, ‘He [the King] is a much different person than your prime minister. Your prime minister has to learn how to deal the way he deals, and he’ll do a lot better.’”
Stone pushed Trump on Starmer, adding: “I said, ‘Do you think this visit will improve your relationship with Keir Starmer?’
“He said, ‘I can tell you one thing – our relationship is very good, but you know, that’s another individual, we will find out. But I like Keir Starmer very much, I think he’s made a tragic mistake on immigration and a tragic mistake on energy’.”
