President Donald Trump joined King Charles III for a state banquet on Sept. 17 in the U.K., where he seemed to have trouble with his words. As Trump delivered his speech, something about his demeanor left people speculating about what was really going on.
After King Charles read his remarks while hosting the Trumps at Windsor Castle, the president’s turn to speak stood out, leaving many wondering if he really belonged in front of a crowd.
The president’s speech was less eloquent than King Charles’, to say the least, but started on a decent note before he blundered through the rest.
“Your Majesty. Melania and I are deeply grateful to you and Queen Camila for your extraordinary graciousness,” Trump began. “And to William and Kate, thank you so much. It’s been so great being with you today. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.”
He went on to congratulate England for fighting fascism, and it almost seemed like the king glanced across the table at Queen Camilla with a smirk after Trump’s remark.
When he got about halfway through his speech, Trump began to struggle a lot, as he seemingly ad-libbed portions of the speech while complimenting King Charles for being a king.
“He has given his whole heart, everything he’s got to those parts of Britain that are beyond the realm of mere legislation. It’s not easy, but which, define its essence and its virtue, its harmony, and its soul,” he blundered. “It’s, uh, an amazing calling, and there’s nobody that’s answered that calling like you have.”
Trump continued, “A fifth of all humanity speaks, writes, thinks, and prays in the language born on these isles and perfected in the pages of Shakespeare and Dickens and Tolkien, Lewis, Orwell, Kipling. Incredible people, unbelievable people like we have rarely seen before, probably won’t see again.”
After a clip of the speech was shared on X, users could not help themselves and tore into Trump.
“Nobody has ever read harder than Trump is reading his speech at the UK state dinner,” wrote one user.
Brought to you by the party that wants to eliminate the Department of Education. https://t.co/xg3ZflStEg
— PoliticOhMyGawd (@PoliticOhMyGawd) September 17, 2025
“Give him credit, it just took him 3 hours to read the menu & realise a Big Mac isn’t on it,” another user joked, prompting another to reply, “Don’t play. You know there’s a McD’s food truck waiting on him outside.”
Another response, dripping with child-like enthusiasm, read: “Sounds like a 3rd grader reading in front of his class.”
“Give him a break, that’s more reading than he’s done in the past three months, and some of them are really big words,” another user concluded.
Protestors gathered in London during Trump’s visit, carrying anti-Trump signs as well as Palestinian flags. The protest was organized by the Stop Trump campaign.
