The King roasts Trump, but is Donald too dim to get the joke?
King Charles’ speech during a state dinner at the White House was packed full of sly digs at Donald Trump – but is the president smart enough to know he’s being mocked?
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What’s the story?
If you like dad jokes, you’d have been rolling in the aisles during King Charles’ speech at his White House state dinner.
His address, made from a gold-plated lectern, in front of Trump, politicians, dignitaries and members of the press, was packed full of boomer-humour that dated back centuries.
King Charles’ speech covered NATO, the 9/11 terror attacks in New York, the war in Ukraine, and the 18th century battle between the English and the French to control America, during a visit many have hoped will smooth the cracks in the ‘special relationship’ between the UK and US.
King Charles also spoke about the potential excesses of executive power – which could, of course, relate to a certain MAGA president in the room.
Not that Trump would have understood the joke, of course.
Emily Maitlis describes his address as reaching to places “very few other international leaders would dare to go”.
“The king went on about his own service in the Royal Navy and his family's historic service in the Royal Navy,” says Jon Sopel.
“I wonder why he felt it necessary to talk about that.”
In 1968, Trump escaped draft to the Vietnam war due to bone spurs in his heels, the legitimacy of which has long been debated.
“He talked about the challenges to the environment and how we mustn't spoil the planet,” says Jon.
“I wonder why he felt it necessary to say that.”
Since returning to power in 2025, Trump has rolled back rulings on greenhouse gas emissions, made “drill, baby, drill” (calling for new drilling for oil) a catchphrase in the early days of his second presidency, and rolled back many other green policies put in place by Joe Biden and Barack Obama.
Jon says despite the humour in the King’s speech, it highlighted how there are more important things at stake than Trump’s personal insults about Keir Starmer.
“You’re in a funny old place when an unelected monarch can still lecture a republic on how they abuse power,” Emily says.
‘Trump won’t have understood most of what was said’
Lewis Goodall, however, says his sides were not splitting at the content of Charles’ speech.
“Most of this was pretty light hearted, and the usual traditional diplomatic guff about how close we are, and the special relationship,” he says.
“Let's be honest, if anyone's expecting this to make any difference to anything Trump does, it clearly won't.
“Trump wouldn't have even understood most of what the king was saying.”
But he also admits it may become a “defining moment” of his reign.
“I can't quite imagine his late mother delivering that sort of speech and being quite as pointed as he was,” Lewis adds.
“He clearly had some things he wanted to say, and certainly some in America have welcomed it.”
Will the King’s visit massage Trump’s ego enough to repair UK/US relations?
Donald Trump loves nothing more than royalty, and it is widely believed King Charles’ visit was a decision made by Keir Starmer’s government, not the Palace, after months of attacks and criticism of the UK Prime Minister.
“Trump loves the royal afterglow. He loves being around it,” says Lewis.
“He loves strutting around like a peacock, pretending that he himself is a king.”
While this was happening, The White House was sharing a photo of Trump and the King on its social media accounts with the comment “two kings”.
He is, Lewis adds, trolling his opponents.
In September 2025 he said the Windsor Castle state dinner was one of the highlights of his life – months later, he was attacking Keir Starmer and the Royal Navy for not sailing to his aid in the US and Israel war in Iran.