King Charles III informally took over as the monarch of Britain in September 2022 following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, but his official crowning ceremony took place recently. Surprisingly, US President Joe Biden was not among the guests present at the event. Former President Donald Trump held a meeting with Nigel Farage from GBN to discuss what Trump referred to as a “highly disrespectful” choice.
Initially, Farage implied that despite President Biden’s evident British ancestry, he might not hold a strong affinity for the United Kingdom. However, Trump believed that there were deeper, more worrisome reasons behind Biden’s absence. In a conversation with the British correspondent, Trump expressed his view that Biden might not be physically capable of attending the event, without providing specific details. Trump instead alluded to the President having numerous peculiar commitments, stating, “he’s got a lot of things going, a lot of strange things.”
🚨 Trump says he “was very surprised” Biden will not attend the Coronation, adding “I think it’s very disrespectful for him not to be here”.pic.twitter.com/wyEYgZGd04
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) May 3, 2023
According to The New York Post, there have been inquiries about President Biden’s mental aptitude for seeking reelection. The publication referenced a survey conducted by the Center for American Political Studies, which revealed that 57% of the public harbored uncertainties about his cognitive abilities. Within the same group of respondents, 63% expressed the belief that Biden displayed indications of being too advanced in age to effectively govern the nation.
According to Fox News, President Biden justified his choice not to attend the British coronation by citing the precedent that no US president has ever done so. Instead, he delegated the responsibility to First Lady Jill Biden to represent the country. Furthermore, President Biden intends to undertake a state visit to the United Kingdom after accepting a “special invitation” from the newly crowned King. The specific date for this visit has not yet been determined by the State Department.
On Saturday, May 6, the Archbishop of Canterbury conducted the coronation ceremony for the monarchs at Westminster Abbey. Despite Queen Elizabeth’s dying wish for Charles’ wife to be crowned Queen Consort, the former “commoner,” now known as Queen Camilla, holds the official title.