President Joe Biden’s plans to attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral have been riddled with speculation about Donald Trump accompanying the delegation.
“I don’t know what the details are yet, but I’ll be there,” the president confirmed after announcing the Queen’s death at Balmoral, her long-term Scottish residence, at Buckingham Palace on Friday.
The funeral is expected to take place around September 19 in the same church where the Queen was coronated in 1953 and will attract presidents, prime ministers and leaders from around the world.
Biden’s trip, however, has been accompanied by speculation over whether the president will ask his predecessor to join the group of leaders paying tribute to the queen.
While commemorating her “loyalty” to the country, Mr Trump mourned the passing of the longest-serving monarch. But he did not comment on whether he would attend the funeral in London.
In a CNN discussion, host Jake Tapper said, “It will be up to President Biden to decide whether he brings other [former] The president is with him at the Queen’s funeral,” as he added that it would be a “smart move” to invite him.
“I mean, the UK has made it clear that it’s up to the president. He’s invited. He can bring any delegation. So, obviously [Barack] Obama, [Jimmy] Carter, [George] Bush, no brains,” he said, referring to the cordial relationship between Mr. Biden and the previous president.
“What about Trump? Will he invite Trump?” Tapper asked.
Jeff Zeleny, CNN’s chief state correspondent, responded: “I’ve been told by several foreign officials that Buckingham Palace seems to be decided by each country individually.”
“In this case, it would have been easy if Trump wasn’t in the picture,” he said, noting that Mr. Obama attended the 2013 Nelson Mandela meeting with two of his predecessors, Bush and Bill Clinton. funeral.
Donald Trump and Queen Elizabeth II inspect the honor guard in 2018.Mr Trump claims he talked to the Queen ‘all night’ after meeting her in 2019
(Richard Pohle – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
The former president and current head of state are currently embroiled in a war of words ahead of mid-November. Mr. Biden stepped up his attacks on the threat to democracy posed by Mr. Trump and Maga Republicans, and likened the philosophy underpinning the dominant pressure of the modern Republican Party to “half-fascism.”
“Who knows, probably in the spirit of forgiveness and giving, President Biden will invite Donald Trump to aboard Air Force One,” Zeleni said on the show.
“I doubt it will happen, but I do expect some type of bipartisan delegation,” he said, adding that the White House would not make any comment until the funeral was arranged at Buckingham Palace.
“I think it would be wise to invite him,” Tapper echoed. “Let’s see if he’s going. I don’t think President Trump, ex-President Trump, would want to be a subordinate to Air Force One. And I think, he probably prefers his own plane.”
Mr Trump earlier spoke to former politician and BBC Nigel Farage, who recalled talking to the Queen “all night” when he met the Queen in 2019.
“We had great chemistry. Then you remember there was a big celebration that night and I was sitting next to the Queen and we were chatting all night. She was incredible. She spoke unbelievably and was so sharp. She has such a sharp mind and being with her is a very special thing,” he said.
Meanwhile, Fox News host Jesse Waters has come under fire for repeating the former president’s claim that the Queen “has never had a better time than when she met Mr Trump”.
“Extremely hopeless [Jesse Watters] fascinating,” historian Brooks Simpson tweet.
‘Trump is a classless idiot,’ actor Heather Thomas Add to.
