Trump Takes Aim at Biden for Skipping Historic Coronation
Trump Takes Aim at Biden for Skipping Historic Coronation

By Janice Hisle

Former president Donald Trump royally criticized President Joe Biden for skipping the historic coronation of the new British monarchs this weekend.

During an exclusive interview with a British TV network during his visit to the U.K. on May 3, Trump took issue with Biden’s decision to forgo the May 6 ceremony in London, where 100 world leaders will witness England’s first coronation in 70 years.

As King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort, are crowned, Trump predicted that Biden will be at his home, “sleeping.”

“He’s not running the country. He’s now in Delaware, sleeping,” Trump said. “When you have somebody that’s going to be sleeping instead of coming to the coronation, as President of the United States … it’s a bad thing.”

Trump spoke with British political commentator Nigel Farage on GBNews during a visit to Scotland, where Trump owns golf courses, including a newly opened one.

U.S. President Donald Trump listens as Nigel Farage speaks during a Make America Great Again rally at Phoenix Goodyear Airport in Goodyear, Ariz., on Oct. 28, 2020. (Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)

‘Very Disrespectful’

If he were still serving as the U.S. president, Trump said he would attend the coronation—which would have been a first.

“No sitting U.S. president has ever attended a British royal coronation,” The Associated Press reported.

President Dwight Eisenhower sent a delegation when Queen Elizabeth II was crowned in 1953. But Biden and his wife, First Lady Jill Biden, attended the Queen’s funeral in September 2022.

It seems “very disrespectful” for Biden to send his wife alone to serve as the US representative to watch the coronation of the late Queen’s son and his wife, Trump said.

Trump was surprised to hear that Biden would eschew the coronation. “You would think he would be here,” Trump said.

Farage said Biden seems to have great affection for Ireland, where he has ancestral roots and recently visited. But Brits feel that Biden doesn’t hold much affection for them, Farage said.

“He completely ignores the fact that ‘Biden’ is, in fact, an English name; he’s got English relatives. He doesn’t seem to like us very much,” Farage said.

LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 19: U.S. President, Joe Biden (C) and first lady Jill Biden attend the state funeral and burial of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey on September 19, 2022 in London, England. Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor was born in Bruton Street, Mayfair, London on 21 April 1926. She married Prince Philip in 1947 and ascended the throne of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth on 6 February 1952 after the death of her Father, King George VI. Queen Elizabeth II died at Balmoral Castle in Scotland on September 8, 2022, and is succeeded by her eldest son, King Charles III. (Photo by Jack Hill- WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Although Biden is only four years older than Trump, Biden, now 80, seems to be showing his age, Trump said, suggesting that may be a reason for his absence from the big event.

“Actually, I think that it’s hard for him to do it, physically,” Trump said, referring to making the long trip from the U.S. to the U.K.

Despite legal woes, including a criminal indictment in New York, Trump is the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination. Democrat Biden announced his reelection bid last week. Political polls show the two virtually tied, according to the RealClear Politics average.

When Farage asked Trump whether he thought he would win the 2024 election, he replied, “I think we have a very good chance.”

Trump said Americans are suffering under Biden’s economic policies; he vowed to lower inflation, interest rates, and energy prices.

Respect for Monarchs

Trump said he got to know the late queen, her son, and his wife very well during his presidency. “The Queen kept it together. This woman was amazing,” he said.

He marveled at how gracious and diplomatic she was, without fail. Trump said she didn’t make mistakes and avoided controversy.

Farage said Queen Elizabeth was “probably the most popular human being in the world.” Trump agreed.

Calling the new king “a wonderful guy” and praising his wife’s “fantastic personality,” Trump said that the new monarchs would serve England well.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles, Prince of Wales, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Platinum Jubilee Pageant in London, England, on June 5, 2022. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Disloyal Royals

However, Trump thumped two other royal family members, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. Harry will attend his father’s coronation without Meghan, the former American actress.

She and her husband discontinued their royal duties in 2020 and moved to California, where they are raising two young children; Meghan will stay home with them during the coronation, Buckingham Palace said in a statement; no reason was given.

Considering that Harry recently released a tell-all book about his life as a royal, “I think it was very nice that they invited him, but I was a little surprised,” Trump said. “He said some terrible things … the book was just horrible.”

Trump also criticized Harry’s wife for being “disrespectful” of Queen Elizabeth. Harry and Meghan publicly complained about their royal obligations and relationships within the royal family, causing heartache and embarrassment for the Queen in her waning years.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, arrive at the town hall during the Invictus Games Dusseldorf 2023, in Dusseldorf, Germany, on Sept. 6, 2022. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Farage-Trump Connection

Farage and Trump share a particular affinity.

Farage, a former political leader in the U.K., “was one of the very few that predicted that Donald Trump would win the presidential elections,” Farage’s website says, adding that Farage “was the first foreign politician to meet the newly elected President in Trump Tower just days after his historic win.”

Trump dubbed Farage “Mr. Brexit,” referring to Farage’s pivotal role in the Brits’ exit–or Brexit–from the European Union.

In closing his Trump interview, Farage said, regardless of whether people like the former president, “He’s going to be a very, very major figure in global debate between now and November 2024. Of that, I have absolutely no doubt at all.”

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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