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.
‘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.
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.”
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.
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.
Farage-Trump Connection
Farage and Trump share a particular affinity.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.”
