The limits of British submission to Trump

The United Kingdom has carefully prepared a grand display of pomp and circumstance, led by the most glamorous monarchy on the planet, to flatter Donald Trump on his second state visit to British soil (the first was during his first term in 2019). Trump and Melania were received by the Prince and Princess of Wales, William and Kate Middleton, in Windsor Gardens and were accompanied to the presence of Charles III and Camilla. There, Trump was able to ride in a royal carriage and participate in several military ceremonies during which the national anthems of both countries were played. The icing on the cake will be the state banquet at St. George's Hall hosted by the British royal family.

All this paraphernalia, which has been very well received by Trump, could not be held on the streets of London due to protests against the visit, and therefore everything was held within the grounds of Windsor Castle, away from the public eye and with a carefully curated BBC broadcast. London's goal is none other than to impress Trump with a grand display of flattery in order to extract some trade benefits from its most important partner, such as exemption from tariffs on Scotch whisky (Trump's mother, by the way, was Scottish).

This seems to be the way everyone has found to try to minimize the political and economic damage Trump is causing. The European Union did so previously in that humiliating meeting between Ursula von der Leyen and Trump at a golf course owned by the US president in Scotland, and also during the last NATO summit, where Secretary General Mark Rutte referred to the president as "a man of no value."daddy".

This tactic can pay off in the short term, as stated in an article in the Financial Times Eduard Luce, but it can never be a background strategy with a figure like Trump. Luce recalls that the lavish gift of a luxury Boeing from Qatar to Trump, and the promise of multi-million-dollar investments, failed to prevent Israel from bombing this country for killing Hamas leaders. This policy of appeasement or containment with Trump only makes sense if, in parallel, alliances are built that allow for reducing dependence on the American giant. This is what Canada, for example, is doing, refusing to bow to Trump's threats, and what the EU should also do, having initiated a rapprochement with India, another of the countries punished by Washington.

If Keir Starmer thinks he can get anything positive out of this whole display of subservience to Washington's wishes, he's quite wrong, because Trump has no respect for his allies, and besides, his candidate to govern the United Kingdom isn't him but Nigel Farage, the instigator of the Brexit nonsense. Perhaps Starmer will be able to show off a few crumbs this Thursday, but it will always be because it suits Trump to project an image of magnanimity toward those who flatter him excessively. And this isn't a "special relationship." It's simply called submission.