The King and Trump

Charles hosting Donald Trump

Today, Saturday 26th July, the Stop Trump Coalition organised events in Aberdeen city centre and outside the US consulate in Edinburgh. From September 17 to 19 he will be invited to an unprecedented second state dinner hosted by Charles Windsor.

By Reuben Duffy, Vice-Convenor of Our Republic

Each modern British Monarch has lived through some form of epoch defining international crisis.

For George V, it was the Great War. His son, George VI, dealt with the offspring of that conflict- WWII. Queen Elizabeth II navigated Cold War politics and the end of Empire. 

For Charles III, it appears that he has been dealt the hand of the end of American democracy and the betrayal of Ukraine, alongside the trivial problem of the climate crisis.

And recent actions suggest neither he or the Monarchy is up to this heavy task.

The King, on the advice of UK Ministers, has decided on a policy of appeasement. Hugging America closely in the hope we are saved Trump's wroth.  

At first, monarchists may defend this. The King is after all acting in concert and on the advice of ministers, who have fixated on maintaining the 'Special relationship' no matter what.

They may point out that this is the Monarchy's great strength, utilising its awesome soft power to woo foreign rulers to Britain's benefit. 

In service of this, Donald Trump, a man who has endorsed genocide in Gaza, Russian imperial conquest in Ukraine and threatened war with Canada, Mexico and Panama for imagined slights, will be the first President to receive the honour of two state visits to the UK.

He will be wined and dined in the finest halls in the land.

Again, many point out the President's particular fondness for the Monarchy and for Scotland itself make this a viable strategy. That detractors are not serious people. 

As ever, this misses the fundamental issue with Monarchy.

Constitutional Monarchy in Britain is a façade. The King retains vast formal powers but in practise never exercises them independently, following the advice of ministers, lest he lose his throne as his ancestors did in the 17th Century. The Monarch is a rubber stamp that Ministers love to use. 

This deprives Scotland and the UK of a legitimate democratically elected Head of State who can exercise their political capital without fear of losing their position. 

In Ireland, President Higgins has managed to speak out in several topics and act as an independent political actor, despite the Irish Presidency being a largely ceremonial post. He is not dependent on the Taoiseach or Irish Government. He has his own electorate mandate, from which he derived the political capital to criticise practises such as the Israeli occupation of Palestine, the modern Irish economy and the housing market. The King cannot and will not follow such an example for fear of losing his throne. 

Thus, there is no democratic legitimacy for his actions. No one in Scotland asked for this. Not the public, not civic society, not the Scottish Government, not the Scottish Parliament. 

The King is not acting as the representative of the nation, he is acting as a mouthpiece of Ministers. Ministers who are determined to maintain Britain's role in the world as America's most reliable ally. Scotland is merely window dressing for this exercise, regardless of the wishes of its population. 

President Trump is unquestionably the most dangerous man to ever occupy the office. A virulent authoritarian, imperialist and bigot rolled into one fake-tanned morass of a human. A man even now facing the revival of tales of his long history of friendship with the horrific predator Jeffrey Epstein.

Times Cover of Donald Trump - “King Me.”

And the King is inviting him for dinner. To a dinner table not unfamiliar with the appeasement of friends of Epstein. It, after all, still hosts Charles' brother Andrew, the Earl of Inverness.

But the Monarchy's debasement goes further than a mere visit and kowtowing to ministers. Latest reports suggest that the King, as Head of the Commonwealth, has invited the United States to join as an associate member. This is not one made at the direction of Sir Keir Starmer. The King's position as Head of the Commonwealth is distinct from that of his rule over the 15 realms. At a time when Canada, the second largest of the King's realms, is facing Trump's threats of annexation, the Monarchy sees fit to clasp hands with the man making the threats, in a further appeasement of the Trump regime.

The Monarchy has made up its mind. It will appease, flatter and praise Trump, no matter the acts. They must now deal with the consequences. 

The King can invite Trump to his gold-gilded palaces, he can wine him, dine him. He can hope this ego-stroking spares Canada and the other Commonwealth nations the wroth of an aspiring authoritarian, bent on imperial conquests and coercion. They can do all this and the result will be unchanged.

When Trump lands in Scotland, to tour his estates before being flattered and pandered to at Windsor, the response will be a thunderous shout of rejection from the people of Scotland. As Charles sits beside this aspirational dictatorial King the Monarchy will see itself tied irreparably to this shameful dereliction of moral duty. Then, perhaps, they will realise just how out of touch and out of time they are. 

Let them come and hear for themselves the true voice of the people.