Trump uses Windsor toast to frame Western values and critique Biden

President Donald Trump delivered a toast to King Charles III at Windsor Castle during the state dinner on Wednesday evening, framing Western values and free speech as shared touchstones of transatlantic friendship while offering a pointed critique of President Joe Biden.

In remarks that mixed praise with political theater, Trump drew a line between the past and the present, saying free speech has long been a foundation of liberty and noting in Britain a spate of police actions against social-media posts deemed offensive. He cited laws that critics have described as broad or vague, targeting posts said to cause "annoyance," "anxiety," or to be "grossly offensive."

Trump quoted a line he attributed to the era of empire, saying, "The British Empire laid the foundations of law, liberty, free speech and individual rights virtually everywhere the Union Jack has ever flown including a place called America." He allowed the king to respond with a light smile as the room listened.

The president also cast himself as a guardian of national identity, noting a purported 1993 document from the king vowing to "put the 'great' back into Great Britain" and praising "his great patriotism." He suggested that the bond between the two nations runs deeper than politics.

Trump then drew a contrast with recent U.S. leadership by pointing to the "special relationship" and boasting about domestic and global achievements. He said, "The bust is in the Oval Office right now, the beautiful bust of Winston Churchill," framing the display as a symbol of longtime friendship and the shared history that binds Washington and London.

He also took a subtle jab at President Biden, telling the king that the United States had been "very sick" a year ago and is now "the hottest country anywhere in the world," adding that "nobody is even questioning that." He asserted that the two nations have, in his view, brought peace, prosperity, and innovation to much of the world.

The speech included a celebration of the Anglo-American linguistic heritage, with Trump praising writers from Shakespeare and Dickens to Tolkien, Lewis, Orwell and Kipling, saying the English language born in these isles had been perfected in their pages.

In closing his toast, Trump praised King Charles as "a very very special man" and Queen Camilla as "a very very special queen," and he credited the two with elevating their partners' "special relationship" beyond a slogan to a shared mission for freedom and progress.

The address also invoked history to justify support for Ukraine, saying that "in two World Wars we fought together to defeat the forces of tyranny" and that today "as tyranny once again faces Europe" the United States and its allies stand with Ukraine to deter aggression and secure peace.

Charles, for his part, spoke of environmental protection, underscoring that the evening's diplomacy encompassed not only security and culture but also climate and stewardship. The banquet brought together prominent guests, including the Princess of Wales, as U.S. and British leaders framed a broad agenda for their alliance.

Observers noted that the exchange underscored a revival of a long-standing transatlantic dynamic, even as critics at home and abroad watch how rhetoric translates into policy. The Windsor dinner, with its ceremonial trappings and pointed themes, highlighted the ongoing effort to keep the U.K.–U.S. alliance cohesive amid evolving global challenges.