President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the US has “no closer friends” than the British, as he welcomed King Charles III to the White House on a state visit overshadowed by tensions over the Iran war. In speech during a pomp-filled welcome featuring a 21-gun salute, Trump’s tone was a world away from the recent broadsides aimed at Britain’s government for failing to join the conflict with Tehran. “In the centuries since we won our independence, Americans have had no closer friends than the British,” said Trump. Using a phrase prized by British govts since Winston Churchill first used it after WWII, Trump said that the two countries had a “special relationship, and we hope it will always remain that way.” Trump also praised the British military, saying that “nobody fought better together” with the US — despite recently deriding Britain’s two aircraft carriers as “toys.”
