King Charles’ recent state trip to the United States was largely viewed as a diplomatic triumph. However, one controversy continued to overshadow the visit both during and after it ended. Now, the discussion has grown even louder after Sir Rod Stewart made a surprising remark about Donald Trump while speaking directly to the monarch.
King Charles and Queen Camilla spent four days in the U.S. at the start of May. The trip began with two days in Washington, D.C., where they held extensive meetings with President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump.
As monarch, Charles is expected to stay politically neutral, and his speech before Congress was widely praised. Even so, Donald Trump appeared twice to draw the king into political matters, prompting Buckingham Palace to issue a clarification.
Trump Says Charles Supports His Iran Stance
During the State Dinner hosted by Donald and Melania Trump on Tuesday night, Trump made an unexpected remark involving King Charles and the ongoing Iran conflict. While Charles had only broadly mentioned “the conflict in the Middle East” throughout the visit and carefully avoided directly naming Iran, Trump implied that the monarch agreed with his position.
“We’re doing a little Middle East work right now… and we’re doing very well,” Trump said.
He continued: “We have militarily defeated that particular opponent, and we’re never going to let that opponent ever, Charles agrees with me even more than I do. We’re never going to let that opponent have a nuclear weapon. They know that, and they’ve known it right now, very powerfully.”
The comments quickly led to a response from Buckingham Palace. Speaking to The Sun, a palace spokesperson stated, “The King is naturally mindful of his Government’s long-standing and well-known position on the prevention of nuclear proliferation.”
Rod Stewart’s Remark Triggers Criticism
Although King Charles’ visit received praise in both the U.K. and the U.S. for his humor, diplomacy, and calm demeanor, the monarch has not publicly shared his personal views on Donald Trump.
However, another well-known figure seemed ready to do exactly that while speaking directly to the king.
At a Royal Albert Hall celebration marking Charles’ 50 years connected with The King’s Trust, Sir Rod Stewart briefly greeted the monarch on the red carpet. According to GB News, the exchange quickly turned awkward after Stewart brought up the recent American trip. “May I say well done in the Americas,” Stewart reportedly told the king. “You were superb. Absolutely superb. You put that little rat bag in his place.”
The comment immediately sparked backlash online, with many royal supporters arguing that Stewart had pulled the politically neutral monarch into a partisan conversation. One social media user wrote: “Hopefully he didn’t mean the President.”
Another commented: “[King Charles] worked very hard to smooth the US & UK relations.”
A third person simply stated: “Not funny at all.”
As of now, Donald Trump has not publicly reacted to Rod Stewart’s remarks.
