When Donald Trump landed at Stansted Airport to begin his second state visit to the United Kingdom – an "unprecedented" honour, lest we ever be allowed to forget – all eyes were on Air Force One.
Except, that is, in Windsor, where the US president would be the King's guest of honour at a lavish white-tie state banquet.
In the royal Berkshire town, there was an even bigger talking point – one as bigly as the castle itself. Photographs of the president and his late friend, the paedophile predator Jeffrey Epstein, had been projected onto a corner tower of the royal palace, a reminder of Trump's other special relationship.
For Joy Lo Dico, the arrest of four Led by Donkeys activists for beaming the images went against everything that Trump purports to stand for. "The most significant thing that the United States has exported to western Europe over the last centuries has been its values of liberty and freedom of expression," she wrote. "One can't help but wonder what Trump would say. Freedom of speech is, after all, a favourite hobby horse of his. One rule for them, perhaps?" Read her piece in full here.
According to Sean O'Grady, Trump's arrival in the UK gave Keir Starmer a chance to shift attention away from recent turmoil – Angela Rayner's resignation, the sacking of US ambassador Peter Mandelson, and endless speculation about Andy Burnham. In other words, time for a change of tune. Would somebody please strike up a distracting bagpipe?
Former foreign minister Tobias Ellwood explained how rolling out the red carpet for the US president is more than mere ceremony – like it or not, our nation's future prosperity and security depends upon it. "It is a chance to speak plainly, to challenge assumptions, and to demand clarity from the leader of the West. Britain cannot blink. If we seize the opportunity, we can help steer America back toward global leadership and reinforce the foundations of the order that has kept us safe since 1945. If we shrink from that task, history will judge us as bystanders when resolve was needed most."
Every feast, even a state banquet of national significance, must have its Banquo's ghost – and Jeremy Corbyn was happy to oblige. Writing exclusively for The Independent, the former Labour leader said the Starmer government's litany of ongoing woes were entirely its own fault: "Labour is reaping what it has sown," he said.
"Over the past year, the government has continued a programme of austerity and privatisation. It has refused to lift the two-child benefit cap, the single biggest driver of child poverty. It has tried to take away the winter fuel allowance. It has increased the bus fare cap. And it has tried to take away £5bn from disabled people, curating a two-tiered benefit system that deprives thousands of people of a dignified life. That's why we're building a new, mass, democratic party that belongs to its members."
If you're not partied out after all the royal flummery, Your Party will be along any minute. See you next week.
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