The US president hailed the King as a ‘great man’ and said the royal couple’s trip would be a positive.
The King and Queen’s state visit to the US could “absolutely” mend relations with the UK damaged over the Iran war, Donald Trump has said.
The US president hailed Charles as a “great man” and said the royal couple’s trip would be “a positive” in an interview with the BBC.
Mr Trump also warned he does not think Sir Keir Starmer “has a chance” of repairing the relationship unless he changes direction, including cracking down on immigration.
As well as policy differences, the two leaders have been at loggerheads over the Middle East conflict, with the president deriding the Prime Minister as weak and indecisive.
Charles and Camilla arrive in the US on Monday for a four-day visit during which they will meet Mr Trump.
They will also be guests of honour at a White House banquet and Charles has been invited to address a joint meeting of the US Congress.
Asked by the BBC whether the King’s trip will help repair strained transatlantic relations, Mr Trump said: “Absolutely. He’s fantastic. He’s a fantastic man. Absolutely the answer is yes.
“I know him well, I’ve known him for years.
“He’s a brave man, and he’s a great man. They would absolutely be a positive.”
Mr Trump also earlier this week waded into the row over Peter Mandelson and his appointment as US ambassador, branding it “a really bad pick”, but added that the Prime Minister had “plenty of time to recover”.
Asked about his intervention and whether the pair can fix their relationship, Mr Trump said: “If he opened the North Sea and if his immigration policies became strong, which right now they’re not, he can recover, but if he doesn’t, I don’t think he has a chance.”
Asked for his response to the President’s remarks during a visit to Kenton United Synagogue in Harrow, north-west London on Thursday, the Prime Minister said: “Well look, I’m the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and I make my decisions based on what’s in the British national interest, and not what other people say or do.
“I’m here to serve the British people always, to have their interests and to make sure that I make the right decisions for them.
“That is why I took the decision that we would not be dragged into the war in Iran.
“That is why I took the decision we wouldn’t be dragged into the blockade of the Strait.
“That is in our best national interest. That is my duty. I will stick to it, and I’m not going to be diverted or deflected from that by what anybody else says.”
Mr Trump also repeated that he was “not happy” with the support offered by the UK during the Iran conflict, which Sir Keir had been reluctant to be drawn into.
He said: “I didn’t need them at all but they should’ve been there. I didn’t need them, obviously.”
“I didn’t need anybody. I wanted to see whether or not they would be involved.”
He described his calls for support as “more of a test”.
