Trump hails ‘special relationship’ during ceremonial welcome for King Charles’s state visit

US president says Americans ‘have had no closer friends than the British’ amid recent tensions between both nations

Donald Trump has praised the “special relationship” between the US and the UK, as he hosted a ceremonial military welcome for Charles and Camilla at the White House.

Against a backdrop of recent tensions between London and Washington, the US president, speaking on the second day of King Charles’s state visit, said: “In the centuries since we won our independence, Americans have had no closer friends than the British.”