By Lauren Frayer
Copyright npr
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
It’s a time-honored tradition – the presidential visit to the United Kingdom…
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED NARRATOR: Heathrow – the presidential Boeing jet eased into position. On board was one of the most powerful men in the world, making a goodwill visit.
KELLY: …From Woodrow Wilson to today, President Trump, who is now the first and only U.S. president to make a second U.K. state visit. He was hosted by Queen Elizabeth during his first term. Today, it’s her son, King Charles. Today saw all kinds of pageantry, and the U.S. president seemed to bask in all of it. NPR’s Lauren Frayer is near Windsor Castle, where President Trump and the first lady are spending the night. Lauren, hi from London.
LAUREN FRAYER, BYLINE: Hi, Mary Louise.
KELLY: Hi. So give us the highlights.
FRAYER: Where do I start? Mary Louise, let’s cue the trumpets. Here’s what it sounded like today.
(SOUNDBITE OF TRUMPETS PLAYING)
FRAYER: These are military trumpets blasting greetings. Trump and King Charles did what was supposed to be an open-air carriage ride. They had to swap in carriages with roofs because of the typical British weather. There were also bagpipes, the Scots Guards – perhaps a nod to Trump’s late Scottish mother. The president laid a wreath at the tomb of Queen Elizabeth, who hosted him, as you said, for his first state visit here. And then this afternoon, the walls of this little Airbnb where I’m staying shook with the Red Arrows. The Royal Air Force Jets did a flyover. And then this evening, a white-tie state banquet – Trump just gave a toast and called this truly one of the highest honors of his life.
KELLY: Now, we were not invited to this white-tie state banquet, Lauren…
FRAYER: Sadly, no.
KELLY: …But you have been outside the castle walls all day. What is the scene there?
FRAYER: It’s like a split screen. You know, all that pageantry inside this 11th century castle, and then protesters on the outside. Only in the dozens, though, not hundreds. I spoke to one of them earlier. Her name is Lynn Eiliff (ph), a retired health worker. She says she’s never protested before in her life.
LYNN EILIFF: I just feel really angry about so many of the things that he does – his lies, his craze for power, the way that he’s treated everybody really around the world.
FRAYER: And she’s particularly angry about how Trump treated Ukraine’s president in the Oval Office last February. She was carrying a sign in blue and yellow Ukrainian colors, calling Trump a Putinite, accusing him of being cozy with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
KELLY: That is so interesting. I was out reporting here in London on the protests here today and was hearing somewhat similar complaints – things about Trump’s foreign policy, also about his relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Has that come up as you’ve interviewed protesters there in Windsor?
FRAYER: The day actually started here with four people getting arrested for projecting video of Trump and Epstein up out onto the outer wall of Windsor Castle. There are also climate protesters here. They burst into a Republican dinner, chanting – if you drill, baby, drill, how many will you kill? So there are a lot of issues on people’s minds, but I have to say there are also some Trump fans here. There’s one guy in a suit made of U.S. and British flags and more than a few MAGA hats.
KELLY: Ah, are we talking Americans or Brits?
FRAYER: Both, actually – I mean, a lot of American tourists, but also, I met a British college student from Windsor here who said Trump is her favorite politician.
KELLY: OK, now, they are actually going to get some serious business done during this state visit or at least attempt it. Trump is attending a business reception tomorrow, and then tomorrow he also will meet with Prime Minister Keir Starmer. What are you watching for?
FRAYER: So Trump has brought a bunch of U.S. business leaders here with him from U.S. banks, tech companies, chipmakers. There’s been a really big focus on artificial energy. Microsoft says it’s investing $30 billion in Britain’s AI sector; Google, nearly 7 billion to open a data center here. I spoke with the CEO of BritishAmerican Business, which is kind of like a transatlantic chamber of commerce. His name is Duncan Edwards, and he said state visits usually come with business deals.
DUNCAN EDWARDS: But the scale of these is pretty astonishing. It’s a sign that the investment relationship between the U.S. and the U.K. is very healthy.
FRAYER: And that’s something Trump and Starmer may talk about tomorrow. You know, Starmer, even some of his critics say he has navigated Trump’s tariffs and trade war pretty deftly. We’ll see how Starmer navigates a press conference with Trump tomorrow.
KELLY: All right. NPR’s Lauren Frayer reporting today from Windsor, England. Good night from London, my friend.
FRAYER: Thanks so much, Mary Louise. Great to have you here.
Copyright © 2025 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
