Current Affairs Of Pakistan & World: What King Charles will say to Trump

What King Charles will say to Trump

Apr 27, 2026

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With help from Eli Okun, Ali Bianco, Irie Sentner and Makayla Gray

Good Monday morning. This is Jack Blanchard, still winding down after a head-spinning weekend in D.C. Get in touch.

In today’s Playbook …

— British royals touch down in D.C. amid heightened security fears.

— Inside Mike Johnson’s (latest) week from hell.

— The Boldfaces: King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Susie Wiles, Melania Trump, Keir Starmer, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Peter Westmacott, Yvette Cooper, Norah O'Donnell, Jon Husted and more.

DRIVING THE DAY

LIFE COMES AT YOU FAST: One of the most high-profile political visits of the year gets underway in D.C. today amid heightened security fears following the attack at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

Don/King: The arrival of King Charles III and Queen Camilla for a four-day state visit should be one of the showpiece moments of Donald Trump’s second term — a chance for the president to rub shoulders with royalty amid all the pomp and circumstance he loves. But the shadow of Saturday night’s attack at the Washington Hilton hangs over the occasion — along with deeper questions about America’s faltering relations with European allies.

The backdrop: Suspected WHCD gunman Cole Allen is scheduled to make his first appearance in court today, where we may learn more about the charges against him. Chatter around how the armed suspect got so close to the Hilton ballroom dominated conversations at yesterday’s brunches, though Trump was quick to defend the Secret Service (and lash out at the press) in a “60 Minutes” interview last night . White House chief of staff Susie Wiles will hold talks with Secret Service and DHS leadership this week to discuss “protocol and practices” for major events involving the president, Fox News’ Bill Melugin reports.

Keep calm and carry on: After some frantic back-and-forth across the Atlantic, Buckingham Palace confirmed the royal visit to D.C. will go ahead with “modest operational adjustments.” The king and queen will take tea — and, intriguingly, a “beehive tour” — with the president and first lady Melania Trump at the White House this afternoon. Charles is set to address a joint session of Congress tomorrow. On Wednesday and Thursday, the royals travel to events in New York City and Virginia.

But this week’s hottest ticket is an invite to the royal garden party at the British ambassador’s residence this afternoon. The weather looks glorious — most un-British. Let’s hope the gin martinis are up to scratch.

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Now take a step back: Neither the pomp and ceremony, nor the fallout from Saturday night’s attack should overshadow what’s become a critically important trip for transatlantic relations, with America’s commitment to its NATO allies hanging in the balance. As your Playbook author writes in a big piece for POLITICO Magazine this morning, this state visit is shaping up as one of the most significant diplomatic missions of Charles’ life.

Reminder: Trump has subjected British PM Keir Starmer to a torrent of abuse over his failure to provide fulsome support for the president’s war on Iran, threatening to scale back support for NATO in response. Yet the president still speaks warmly of Charles, and retains enormous respect for the British monarchy. And so it falls this week upon the 77-year-old king to find a way to restore the “special relationship” to its former glory. No pressure, Your Majesty.

The king cuts an unlikely figure for the task — beset by illness, advancing years and myriad family scandals. But he’s a far more political actor than his late mother Queen Elizabeth, and has enjoyed semi-regular meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss the war with Russia. Most of Charles’ conversations with Trump will happen behind closed doors, but the expectation will be treating the president to some gentle persuasion that Anglo-American relations — and the broader European security apparatus — are worth nurturing.

“This is a monarch who is extremely well-informed about and interested in global issues, which I am sure he would be up for discussing privately,” former U.K. Ambassador to Washington Sir Peter Westmacott tells Playbook. Notably, the king will be accompanied by Britain’s top diplomat, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper. It’ll be a delicate tightrope for the pair to walk.

Nobody mention the Epstein files: Trump reacted furiously last night when CBS’ Norah O'Donnell read out passages from the WHCA suspect’s alleged “manifesto” containing unsubstantiated allegations related to the Epstein files. Charles has had his own Epstein PR issues to contend with, thanks to his younger brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Presumably, it’s not a topic that will come up over tea.

Coming attractions: Tomorrow’s royal address to Congress will be the visit’s biggest political moment, my POLITICO colleagues Dan Bloom and Esther Webber write from London today. Sources tell them Charles spent significant personal time working on the speech and is expected to address members for 30 minutes. (His mother spoke for just 12 minutes in her own congressional address back in 1991.) “You can say a lot in 30 minutes in Congress,” one person familiar with the planning tells Dan and Esther.

There’s much more in today’s Playbook Podcast, where Jack and Megan Messerly dive deeper on the WHCA attack, the royal visit and the impossible-looking week on the Hill.

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THE FRONT PAGE

HOUSE HELL WEEK: Congress is staring down multiple deadlines this week — and the high-stakes sprint is only becoming more complicated due to Republicans’ deep intraparty divisions, POLITICO’s Meredith Lee Hill reports in a must-read curtain raiser for the week ahead.

Another complication: Speaker Mike Johnson’s mission is akin to herding cats — but the fallout from Saturday’s shooting could make it all the more difficult, Playbook’s Ali Bianco writes in. There’s already calls from GOP lawmakers to include the White House ballroom in the DHS budget resolution. With a week before agency funding runs out, there’s little room for more maneuvering, and any changes would kick it back to the Senate, which has more than enough on its plate this week taking up FISA.

FIRST IN PLAYBOOK — Dems try something new: Democratic super PAC Priorities USA is launching an effort to make inroads with voters in “conservative-adjacent YouTube niches,” Playbook’s Eli Okun reports. The six-figure spend aims to figure out how best to reach persuadable voters interested in sports, comedy podcasts, MAHA health/fitness and more. The group will test standard political spots against others designed to look and feel similar to the content voters/viewers see in that space. Priorities will then measure effectiveness through engagement metrics, surveys and other tools to see which ads move sentiment against Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio).

The idea: “Democrats wrote off millions of voters in 2024 because we didn’t know how to talk to them where they were,” said Danielle Butterfield, Priorities’ president and executive director. “Ohio is the first test of whether we’ve actually learned the lesson.” Check out their gamer-y or sports-esque ads … vs. the more traditional one

ON DEADLINE: The pressure cooker in Washington also encompasses the White House. Trump is staring down four major deadlines in the next five weeks — including crunches on DHS funding and oil, both of which are highly visible to voters heading into the midterms. The deadlines sequence as such: FISA expires April 30; DHS runs dry in early May; Trump’s demands on Iranian oil come in late May; and the president wants a reconciliation bill by June 1. Read POLITICO’s full breakdown

5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

1. CARTE BLANCHE: Acting AG Todd Blanche may lead the Justice Department for months while bypassing Senate confirmation if Trump takes advantage of a loophole he’s used for other top federal prosecutors, POLITICO’s Erica Orden and Eli Stokols report.

2. IRAN LATEST: Iran offered a new proposal to open up the Strait of Hormuz and end the war, tabling tricky nuclear negotiations for now in search of a quicker deal, Axios’ Barak Ravid reports. U.S. officials tell Axios Trump is expected to have a top-level Situation Room meeting today.

3. REDISTRICTING RODEO: The Virginia state Supreme Court hears arguments today over Republicans’ challenge to the Democratic redistricting effort voters approved last week, per AP’s David Lieb. The case hinges on the claim the Democratic-led General Assembly skirted procedural requirements.

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4. TALES FROM THE CRYPTO: Senate Republicans are rushing to deliver on Trump’s campaign promise for a sweeping crypto bill. But they need buy-in from some Senate Democrats, who are using that leverage to crack down on how the Trump family has enriched itself using crypto, POLITICO’s Jasper Goodman and Declan Harty report.

5. MONEY MONEY MONEY: House Republicans are facing strong headwinds as they charge into 2026, but they have one silver lining: lots and lots of money. Candidates from both parties essentially have parity in the most competitive districts — a marked difference from past cycles like 2018. More from POLITICO’s Jessica Piper

TALK OF THE TOWN

IN MEMORIAM — “Donald Riegle, who represented Michigan in Congress under 7 presidents, dies at 88,” via AP: “Riegle, who began his career as a Republican and later became a Democrat, died Friday of cardiac arrest at his home in San Diego, according to a family statement.”

DON’T KNOCK IT ’TIL YOU TRY IT — “Sorry, pub trivia. Nude drawing might be the hippest new event at D.C. bars,” by WaPo’s Sophia Solano: “The scantily clad events popping up across the city’s nightlife scene are more wholesome than you think.”

OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at the POLITICO-Star Brunch, hosted by Goli Sheikholeslami, Robert and Elena Allbritton, which was “Spanish” themed with flamenco performers, sangria and tapas. Guests left with party favors including blue and white POLITICO fans, Star-stamped cookies and petite ham and cheese bocadillos: Jonathan Greenberger, Cally Baute, Alex Burns, John Harris, Arielle Elliott, Alex Panas, David Urban, Jonathan Karl, Mike Tuffin, Olivia Igbokwe-Curry, Mathias Döpfner, Mark Dekan, Jan Bayer, Matthias Berninger, Mike Parrish, Helga Flores Trejo, Nidhi Sinha, Mary Streett, Ben Coffey Clark, Scott Mulhauser, Andrew Bleeker, Sam Feist, Shaun Modi, Alejandro Mayorkas, Lou Carranza, Faryar Shirzad, Kara Calvert, EU Ambassador Jovita Neliupsiene, Teresa Carlson, Tony Fratto, Karan Bhatia, Ben Smith, Tammy Haddad, Reps. David Valadao (R-Calif.) and Gabe Amo (D-R.I.), Jonathan Adashek, Kellyanne Conway, David Bohigian, David Ginsberg, Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pa.) and Dina Powell McCormick, Jim VandeHei, Mike Allen, Joel Kaplan, Shannon McGahn, Chris Ruddy, Morgan Gress, Jenna McMullin, Brendan Buck, Robby Zirkelbach, Elizabeth Falcone, Kathy Baird, Gloria Dittus, Swiss Ambassador Ralf Heckner, Jarrod Agen, McLaurine Pinover, Calley Means, Mark Ein, Roy Blunt, Sophia Bush and Ashlyn Harris, Michael Chiklis, Ann Fairchild, Rick Klein, Manu Raju, Kasie Hunt, Jonathan Capehart, Josh Dawsey, David Chalian and Charlotte Klein.

— Ned's Club D.C. hosted a WHCD Weekend wrap party yesterday with Air Mail — alongside 6666 Ranch and 101 Studios — featuring carving stations of 6666 Ranch beef and a 150-lb. Pacific bluefin tuna flown in from Japan. SPOTTED: Victoria Hervey, Kenyan McDuffie, Lynda Carter, Jon Kelly, Kellyanne Conway, Liz Gough, Julia Vitale, George Pendle, Jessica Sibley, Dana Shell Smith, Katy Balls, Alyson Krueger, Sarah Personette, John McCarthy, Joiwind Ronen, Emma Mears, Asher Grodman, Eilif Røsok, Cory Michael Smith, Michael Chiklis, Esai Morales, Iain Armitage, Aiden McLaughlin, Lachlan Cartwright, Carri Twigg, Leigh Ann Caldwell and Dylan Byers.

— British Ambassador Christian Turner and CNN CEO Mark Thompson welcomed guests yesterday to the third annual WHCD Weekend Finale at the British Ambassador's Residence and Gardens. Brunch included a signature Bloody Mary bar — complete with mini grilled beef skewers, candied bacon and mini grilled cheese sandwiches — an experiential photo booth and custom stamped leather bookmarks. SPOTTED: Virginia Moseley, Alex MacCallum, Amanda Wills, Emily Kuhn, Amy Entelis, Sara Sidner, Laura Coates, Manu Raju, Alayna Treene, Kasie Hunt, Phil Mattingly, Jeremy Diamond, Jake Tapper and Jennifer Marie Brown, Jessica Dean, Omar Jimenez, Kara Swisher, Andrea Mitchell, Matt Friend, Tammy Haddad, U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz, Gordon Sondland, Lynda Carter, Scott Jennings, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, Michael Glantz, Reps. Mike McCaul (R-Texas) and Gabe Amo (D-R.I.), Gabe Gutierrez, Jennifer Griffin, Sam Feist, Sean Spicer, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, Marc Short, Sophia Bush, Sami Sage, Cathy Merrill, David Urban, Lulu Garcia-Navarro, Claire Turner, Adrienne Arsht, Raheem Kassam, Harry Cole, Katy Balls, Anne McElvoy and Ryan Williams.

TRANSITIONS — Ed Niles is now head of client strategy for ClarifyAI. He most recently worked at Green & Wood Media Services.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Jim Justice (R-W.Va.) … Rep. Daniel Webster (R-Fla.) … Jamie Citron … Hannah Kim … The Intercept’s James Risen … NOTUS’ Dana Milbank … Bruce Mehlman … POLITICO’s Aubree Weaver, David Smydra and Sarah Punjwani … Erica Elliott Richardson … Michael Crittenden of the Levinson Group … Will Marshall of the Progressive Policy Institute … Austin Hacker … Semafor’s Reed Albergotti … Bloomberg’s Mike Shepard … Enterprise Mobility’s Downey Magallanes … Sean Dugan of AHIP … Jon Fasman … Global Situation Room’s Brett Bruen … The Sun’s Harry Cole is 4-0 … NCTA’s Mansoor Abdul Khadir … Alexandra De Luca … Goldman Sachs’ Lee Brenner … Norberto Salinas … David Hudson of Aluta Strategies … EMILY’s List’s Christina Reynolds and Callie Fines … Dan Lindner … former Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) … Connor Walsh of Build Digital … Lauren Camera … Will Brown … Doug Rediker … Mary-Kate Fisher … Dan Gerstein … BGR Group’s Dan Farmer … Francesca Porreca … Chris Hayes of Thorn Run Partners

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