00:00Thank you sincerely. Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Lord Speaker, Ambassador Stevens, members
00:23of the House of Commons, members of the House of Lords, and so many esteemed guests. It
00:27is a great honor for us to be here, a tremendous pleasure to be with you all. Speaker Hoyle,
00:33thank you for those kind words, your gracious invitation to be here today, my friend. It
00:38means so much to us. It's a real detriment to follow Speaker Hoyle. I don't like to do
00:44this. At the G7 speakers' meetings, I just want you to know when he gets wound up and
00:49going. It's just like Churchill, and it goes on and on and on. And I try to speak before
00:58him at all times. I don't want to follow, but really, really grateful to be here. He has
01:03become a dear friend. And all of you, we've met so many great friends. My wife, Kelly, and
01:08I are truly touched by how warmly we've been received here and having met so many of you
01:12in the past couple of days. We walked away with this sense that we do have close and
01:18dear friends here across the pond, and we have this shared heritage, and we treasure
01:22that. It is a profound honor to be speaking in Parliament today, to be the first U.S. Speaker
01:27of the House ever given this honor. And I take it very seriously. As proud Americans, it is
01:33as though we have returned to the spiritual birthplace of our own nation. And the history here,
01:38the weight of it is palpable, as you know. It gives you a certain sense of just being
01:45serious. I was going to roll on with a bunch of jokes this morning, but it doesn't feel
01:49right to be in this place at this time. We have returned at a pivotal moment, obviously,
01:55in the great histories of our countries, to mark this anniversary that we have in our nation
02:00and to celebrate what we've achieved together in the past, and importantly, to face and overcome
02:06together the challenges of our present day. And I want to tell you, my friends, we will
02:12do that together. That's what I bring you that message. When I met with Prime Minister
02:16Starmer at Downing Street yesterday, I told him that I thought his national address a few
02:20hours earlier was well done. He noted, of course, that the U.K. and the U.S. are close allies
02:26and that our strong, constructive partnership all these years has been built on mutual respect
02:32and focused on results. I thought that was exactly the right message and the right tone.
02:37And because of that, we've always been able to work through our differences calmly as friends.
02:42We will continue to do that. I want to assure you this morning that that is still the case.
02:48I spoke to President Trump at length yesterday, and I told him that I really felt that my mission
02:53here, even though we planned this back in the fall, we didn't know how the events would develop
02:58over the last few days. But I told the President that I felt that my mission here today was to
03:04encourage our friends and help to calm the waters, so to speak, and I hope to do so.
03:09As the Prime Minister said yesterday, let us look to agreement, continue our dialogue,
03:15and find a resolution, just as we always have in the past. And in that process, I am confident that
03:22we can and will maintain and strengthen our special relationship between these two nations,
03:27send a message of unity and resolve to our allies around the world, and remind our adversaries
03:33and the terrorists and tyrants everywhere that our nations that are dedicated to freedom and justice
03:40and order and human dignity are stronger and more resolved now than ever before. I think it's a
03:46very important message. Of course, we do gather here at a unique and consequential moment in American
03:52history. This year, as noted, is the time we mark our 250th anniversary of our independence.
04:00Now, I know this is not a long span of time in the scale of human history. I get that.
04:05We were touring the thousand-year-old Windsor Palace a day or so ago, and that really put it all,
04:11set it into reality for us. At the dinner we had here last night that Speaker Hoyle and Lady Catherine
04:17graciously hosted for us. It was not lost on me that there at my table were items of silverware
04:23older than my country. Puts it in perspective. But this year, in particular, we remember just how far
04:31we really have come, how our nations have evolved and grown and strengthened in so many ways together.
04:37Thank you so much.
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