Sept. 17, 2025

Horses, Parades, and Political Copycats: Trump's Royal Victory Lap

Show Notes
Transcript

Patrick Gutfield covers President Trump's lavish second state visit to Windsor Castle - complete with horse carriages, military bands, and a private lunch that makes Mar-a-Lago look like a Denny's. Plus, Trump announces a Republican midterm convention after Democrats had the same idea, proving that even presidential politics involves copying homework. From wreath-laying at Queen Elizabeth's tomb to dueling political conventions, it's pomp, circumstance, and shameless imitation all in one show.

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Callaroga Shark Media from London, where they know how to

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put on a parade. This is valid, that's right. The

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prints will show off to distract an easily distractable man.

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Let's hit this. I'm Patrick Gutfield and President Trump is

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heading back to Windsor Castle for his second state visit,

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and the royals are rolling out the red carpet like

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he's returning a Netflix series they actually want to renew.

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The Prince and Princess of Wales will greet Trump and

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the First Lady on the castle grounds, which sounds lovely

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until you realize this is basically the world's most expensive

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meet and greet. Then they're all doing a carriage procession

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through the estate with four senior royals. The Household Cavalry

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Mounted Regiment will provide what they're calling a sovereigns escort,

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which is fancy talk for really expensive horses walking really slowly.

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Three military bands will be playing, and you know Trump's thinking, finally,

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a parade that's actually about me and not some guy

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who died two hundred years ago. After all the pomp,

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they're having a private lunch inside Windsor Castle. Private lunch

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at Windsor Castle that's the kind of flex that makes

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mar a Lago look like a Denny's. I expect horse

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carriages to be added to the White House by Friday.

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Then Trump gets a private tour of the Royal Collection,

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which is basically the world's most valuable garage sale that

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nobody's allowed to touch. But here's the touching part. They're

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going to Saint George's Chapel to lay a wreath on

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Queen Elizabeth's tomb, to see as she will roll over

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in her grave, a quiet, solemn moment in what is

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otherwise the presidential equivalent of a Renaissance fair. You can

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almost picture Trump whispering, she would have loved this whole thing.

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Then we're back outside for a fly past with the

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red arrows and F three five fighter jets, because nothing

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says diplomatic relations like were really loud planes flying overhead.

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They're calling it a powerful symbol of the Transatlantic Alliance,

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which is military speak for expensive skywriting. The day wraps

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up with a state banquet in Saint George's Hall, where

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King Charles and Trump will both give formal remarks. Two men,

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one castle, multiple courses, and probably the most diplomatically worded

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toast in recent memory. Here's to continued dialogue. Tomorrow morning,

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Trump heads to Checkers to meet with Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

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They'll view the Winston Churchill archives, which feels very on

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brand for a meeting between two guys who definitely have

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opinions about everything. Plus traditional bagpipers will be there, because

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apparently no important British meeting is complete without someone in

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a kilt making noise. Two days, multiple castles, countless ceremonies,

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and enough pageantry to make a Broadway producer weep with envy,

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and to think there's a podcast that covers nothing but

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this stuff. It's called Palace Intrigue. And now the calaroga

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bosses can stop complaining that I never cross promote. President

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Trump announced Tuesday that Republicans will hold a midterm convention

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ahead of the twenty twenty six elections. This comes after

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Democrats were already quietly considering the same idea, which means

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we're about to get dueling political conventions in an off

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year election. What could possibly go wrong? Trump posted on

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truth Social that the Republicans are going to do a

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midterm convention in order to show the great things we

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have done since the presidential election of twenty twenty four.

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He added time and place to be determined. Stay tuned.

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It will be quite the event and very exciting. The

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exclamation points are doing a lot of heavy lifting there.

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Trump announcing a convention with the enthusiasm of a cruise

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ship activities director. I wonder which Trump hotel he'll hold

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it at and how much money he's going to make

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from it. The DNC's response was deliciously petty. The sincerest

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form of flattery is imitation, and we're amused the president

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is following our lead. Well, in that case, maybe the

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Dems should at least something labeled the Epstein files to

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see what happens. Here's the thing about midterm conventions. Democrats

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used to hold them in the seventies and eighties, then

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scrap the idea in nineteen eighty six because party leaders

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decided they were a waste of money and energy. Apparently

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they didn't make their money from selling mid roll ads.

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Portions of today's show were made with the help of

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AI and the UK