Donald Trump is making his state visit to the UK this week, where the red carpet will be rolled out to the US president who will be treated to a state banquet, royal flypast and carriage ride amongst other activities.
On Tuesday evening, the Republican will land in Britain for an unprecedented second state visit. Trump’s trip with his wife Melania will be pretty much entirely confined to Windsor, where he will be wined and dined until their departure on Friday.
But there’ll be no great welcoming for Trump, who remains wildly unpopular with most Brits, and whilst this is a state visit in name, Trump is getting a very different treatment to other heads of state.
This is perhaps best highlighted by the golden carriage ride Trump will experience.
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On Wednesday morning, the Prince and Princess of Wales will greet the president and his wife on the Windsor grounds before accompanying them to meet the King and Queen for an open-air greeting.
Then, the Trumps will join the four royals for a golden carriage procession. But Trump won’t get his grand moment of posturing and showing off to the crowds, because the carriage ride will take place in private, remaining on the Windsor estate and only running to Windsor Castle
Compare this to Emmanuel Macron’s state visit this year, where the French president enjoyed a carriage ride though the town of Windsor.
The pitifulness of the whole thing was summed up rather neatly by Zoe Gardner on Tuesday morning.
Appearing on Good Morning Britain, she said: “I think the saddest thing that I’ve actually heard about Trump’s visit is that he is going to get his golden carriage ride, but in private, because the Great British public probably would have given him the ‘rotten tomato’ treatment if he dared to show his face in public.
“We don’t like Donald Trump, but I think that this hiding him away, it reflects the sort of crouch position that the Government is in overall about this meeting.”
Gardner added that the state visit was “shameful and humiliating for the UK.”
She said: “There’s an enormous gulf between a relationship and diplomacy with the United States, and letting this toddler come here and use our country as a theme park, and honouring him with a red carpet and a banquet with the King.
“What we’re doing today is shameful and humiliating for the UK”
Another major difference between Trump’s upcoming visit and traditional state visits is that he will not visit Parliament. This honour is usually given to visiting heads of state, but Trump’s trip is coinciding with party conference season, when the House of Commons is in recess.
How deliberate the timing of this was from Keir Starmer we can never know, but it certainly avoids what would have been a hugely unpopular moment.
Trump is being pandered to like a child, because everyone knows this can, unfortunately, genuinely sway him.
But everyone also knows how incredibly unpopular he is at the same time.
And, of course, this is all taking place against the backdrop of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal and Peter Mandelson’s recent sacking by Keir Starmer as US ambassador.
An awkward few days await in Windsor.