Donald Trump reportedly enjoyed his state visit to the UK from September 16-18. He especially enjoyed hanging out with King Charles, Queen Camilla and the Prince and Princess of Wales. They rolled out the red carpet for this white supremacist and fascist, even inventing a bizarre carriage-ride-to-nowhere procession with no audience. The Windsors patted themselves on the back for how well it all went. Then, just a few days ago, the Mirror reported that Trump complained about being shown too many “beautiful things” at Windsor Castle and “I have seen every memorial and they’re beautiful but now I’ve had enough.” Trump apparently promised Charles that if the king came to Washington, they would just have dinner and Trump wouldn’t drag him to the Lincoln Memorial. Still, whatever private talks Trump and Charles had, they seemed to involve Ukraine. I give Charles a lot of well-deserved sh-t, but he’s been really solid on Ukraine, and he’s gone above and beyond to stand up for Ukraine and President Zelenskyy. Well, now Charles is being credited for Trump’s volte-face on Ukraine.

Donald Trump performed one of his famous about-turns on the subject of Ukraine this week, declaring it could and should win the war against Russia, and this time the unlikely catalyst appears to have been King Charles. According to a report in the Daily Telegraph, Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff said: “I’d like to mention that it was a great visit of President Trump to the United Kingdom, and I know the position of His Majesty, the position of Prime Minister Starmer and the people whom President Trump met … it was very important.”

The Telegraph cited “diplomatic sources” as saying that the timing of Trump’s change of heart, after meeting the king, was “no coincidence.” The newspaper said the two men discussed Ukraine in private meetings.

At the state dinner, Trump nodded and smiled as Charles said: “Our countries have the closest defence, security and intelligence relationship ever known. In two world wars, we fought together to defeat the forces of tyranny. Today, as tyranny once again threatens Europe, we and our allies stand together in support of Ukraine, to deter aggression and secure peace.”

The sovereign is not supposed to intervene in politics, but Charles has long flouted the custom. Even as Prince of Wales, he was notorious for dispatching “black spider memos” to ministers, lobbying them on everything from architecture to agriculture. Prime ministers rolled their eyes at his zeal but usually humored him. What has changed since his accession is not his appetite for influence but the stakes. The war in Ukraine is not an eccentric passion project; it is a matter of Europe’s survival. And by all appearances, Charles has chosen to stake his credibility on persuading the most reluctant of partners.

Over the past year, the former president has toyed with withdrawing from NATO, floated cutting funding to Kyiv, and presented himself as the only man who could “end the war in 24 hours,” which seemed to mean forcing Ukraine to surrender.

European leaders were bracing for the prospect of a Trump presidency that would unravel the transatlantic security order. To have him suddenly nodding along with Charles’s view that Ukraine might reclaim its territory is nothing short of astonishing. It shifts the mood music dramatically. It suggests that NATO’s foundation stone—that Europe and America are in this together—may yet survive a second Trump term.

[From The Royalist Substack]

Let’s also admit that it’s a lot “safer” to give Charles the credit because he’s not a politician. If Trump changes his mind again – and he changes his mind as often as his diapers are changed – it’s not like anyone will say “welp, I guess the king sucks, impeach!!” Charles did what he needed to do, but Keir Starmer and Ukraine’s European allies have also learned how to manipulate Trump and change his tone in the short-term. Has the “TACO” acronym made it to Europe yet? Trump Always Chickens Out. Trump Always Changes His Mind (TACHM) too.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.