By Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell, The Daily Signal | April 29, 2026
President Donald Trump said the visit of King Charles III smoothed over U.S. relations with the United Kingdom amid tension over Iran.
Trump has criticized U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer for declining to help the United States with its military operation in Iran. The president has said the U.K. “should be our best ally” and mocked Starmer for saying he had to ask his team before sending aircraft carriers to the region.
The Daily Signal asked the president on Wednesday if the visit with the king improved relations.
“When you like the king of a country so much, it probably helps your relationship with the prime minister,” Trump said in response to a question from The Daily Signal.
“My visit with the king really was just, it was extraordinary,” he said. “I mean, he’s an extraordinary man. He’s an extraordinary person.”
Trump criticized Starmer for only being willing to send aid after the war is won.
“But you know that case, the prime minister, I said, you want to send a little help? He said, no, we’ll send it after you win the war. I said, That’s not good. That’s not good.”
Trump hosted Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, to kick off their four-day state visit to the U.S.
The king addressed a joint session of Congress Tuesday, highlighting the “special relationship” of the two countries, and touting the need for NATO, following Trump’s repeated criticism of the alliance.
“Today, our partnerships in NATO and AUKUS deepen our technological and military cooperation and ensure that together we can meet the challenges of an increasingly complex and contested world,” Charles said.
Charles and Camilla commemorated victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York City on Wednesday, laying a floral bouquet at the memorial where the World Trade Center’s twin towers once stood. The king also spoke with New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani at the ceremony.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Elizabeth Troutman Mitchell is the White House correspondent for the Daily Signal.
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