British Prime Minister Kiel Starmer said the visit would be a “historic” and “unprecedented” second public service meeting.
President Donald Trump accepted an invitation to visit the state on February 27th from British monarch Charles III.
“The answer is yes. For our wonderful First Lady, Melania and myself, the answer is yes and we look forward to being there, honoring the king and truly honoring your country,” Trump said. “Your country is a wonderful country and it will be our honor to be there.”
British Prime Minister Kiel Starmer delivered an invitation to the president at the White House’s oval office at the beginning of a bilateral debate between the two countries.
“It’s a huge honor because it’s never happened before,” Trump said. “It’s not for me. It respects our country.”
Official state visits are rarely provided by the British royal family, and the sitting US president has never been received twice.
“This is really special,” Starmer said. “This is unprecedented and I think it only symbolizes the strength of the relationship between us.”
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Trump first visited the UK in June 2019 at the request of Queen Elizabeth II. The visit included a formal ceremony at Buckingham Palace, a state-sponsored banquet, and a tour of Westminster Abbey, among other special and special events.
During her more than 70 years of reign, beginning in 1952 and ending posthumously in 2022, the Queen hosted seven US presidents for official state visits: Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Barack Obama, and Trump.
“The visit of the US President always reminds us of the intimate and longstanding friendship between the UK and the US. We are very pleased that we have another opportunity to show the very important thing that our nations are obsessed with our relationship,” the Queen said in 2019 that she welcomed Trump.
The president said the two countries would share similar motivations and create exceptional geopolitical partners.
The bilateral meeting between the president and then Prime Minister Theresa May May included discussions on trade and foreign policy.
It elicited a mixed response from British residents. On the negative side, some protesters flew airships shaped like baby Trump, while Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn boycotted the pageantry and discussed Trump’s comments on British politics.
White House officials have yet to decide on the timing of the potential topics of the second visit and discussion and the potential topics of discussion.
Starmer expressed optimism about Trump’s upcoming “historic” visit, saying the royal family is pulling out all stops.
“I think our last visit to the state was a huge success,” he said. “The King wants to make this even better than that.”
