In a light-hearted exchange during a state dinner on Tuesday, King Charles III and former U.S. President Donald Trump traded jokes, with the King quipping that without British influence, Americans might be speaking French. The banquet, held on the second day of the King and Queen's state visit to the U.S., featured a series of humorous remarks from both leaders.
Trump praised the King for getting "the Democrats to stand" during his address to Congress, while the King made playful references to the Middle East crisis, a naked Sir Winston Churchill in the White House, and Trump's "readjustments" to the presidential residence. The most notable jest came when the King alluded to the 18th-century struggle between Britain and France for control over North America, remarking, "If it wasn't for us, you'd be speaking French."