00:00Mr President, First Lady, my wife and I are most grateful to you for your generous hospitality
00:09as the United States celebrates this very special anniversary year of the Declaration
00:14of Independence. And may I also just start by paying tribute to your own courage and
00:23steadfastness as well as to your security services for their swift actions on Saturday
00:31evening in preventing further injury. My thoughts and sympathies are very much with you, the
00:46First Lady, and all those guests for whom this must have been a very upsetting incident.
00:54As the words of that famous anthem remind us, this is the land of the free and home of the
01:01brave,
01:02as your own response demonstrates. What used to be called in the last war in the United Kingdom,
01:10keep calm and carry on. I now realise, ladies and gentlemen, to my amazement that my first visit
01:20to this remarkable country was over 50 years ago. And, Mr President, the golden threads of history and
01:27heritage between our lands are also embodied, as you mentioned earlier today, in your own family,
01:35and your own family's story, whose roots trace back to the beautiful landscapes of Britain's outer
01:41Hebrides and continue, as we know, in the great golf courses of the Highlands.
01:49I can only imagine the immense pride with which your own dear mother, indeed both your parents,
01:57must be looking down on the great office to which you have been elected for a historic second term.
02:06And, if I may say so, it is a particular pleasure to be back in this wonderful building, the heart
02:13of your democracy.
02:14On this occasion, I cannot help noticing the readjustments to the East Wing, Mr President,
02:24following your visit to Windsor Castle last year. And I'm sorry to say that we British, of course,
02:30made our own small attempt at real estate redevelopment of the White House in 1814.
02:42Anyway, I am so glad we have an important opportunity at this critical time to renew those bonds of history
02:51and friendship between our nations and our peoples. Two and a half centuries ago, the United States of
02:59America was founded through an audacious and visionary act of self-determination.
03:05From the beginning, the American character has been defined by courage, tenacity and the spirit of
03:13adventure. As the direct descendant of King George III, I know this is a nation that never gives up.
03:23And my family's history remains reflected in your maps, which read rather like our Christmas card list
03:31across the ages. North and South Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and the cities of Charleston,
03:42a particular favourite of mine, obviously. Georgetown, and for that matter, Georgia. Annapolis,
03:52as you mentioned, and further favourites, Prince William County and Williamsburg.
03:59This said, our French friends can feel equally at home with a glance at a map.
04:06Indeed, you recently commented, Mr. President, that if it were not for the United States, European
04:12countries would be speaking German. Dare I say that if it wasn't for us, you'd be speaking French.
04:31Of course, we both love our French cousins greatly, and we three estates are not only bound by our
04:38shared values, but by a profound belief that together we are more than the sum of our parts.
04:46Out of the fires of a bitter and bloody Revolutionary War, the triumph of the father of this country,
04:51George Washington, and his fellow Founders, was to forge a democracy founded upon the rights to liberty
04:58liberty and the rule of law. The story of Britain and America is one of reconciliation from adversaries
05:08to the closest of allies, not always, perhaps, following the straightest path. As you said yourself,
05:15Mr. President, during your own state visit at Windsor Castle last year, ours is an unbreakable bond of
05:21history and heritage, culture and commerce, industry and invention, and we are determined to face the
05:27future together. Tonight, we are here to renew an indispensable allowance which has long been a
05:36cornerstone of prosperity and security for both British and American citizens. Our people have fought
05:44and fallen together in defence of the values we cherish across the ocean and from coast to coast,
05:53we have traded, innovated and created together. We have stood together through the best and worst of
06:01times. However, the challenges we now face from those who wish us harm across the world to balancing the
06:08risks and opportunities of powerful new technologies to the threats to the very international rules that
06:15have allowed us to trade and have kept power in balance for 80 years, those challenges encourage us to
06:22reaffirm tonight the basis on which our partnership has been built. And yes, we have had our moments of
06:30difficulty even in more recent history. When my mother visited in 1957, not the least of her
06:38tasks was to help put the special back into our relationship after a crisis in the Middle East.
06:45Nearly 70 years on, it is hard to imagine anything like that happening today.
06:51But it is not hard to see how important the relationship remains in matters both seen and unseen.
07:00My mother's first Prime Minister, Sir Winston Churchill, understood this so well.
07:06But then he himself was half American, a tradition of shared transatlantic heritage which I am pleased to
07:13say is alive and well in the White House today. Indeed, such was the closeness that Sir Winston,
07:21while staying here in the White House, in those rooms you showed us upstairs, emerged naked from the
07:27bath tub to discover the door opening as President Roosevelt came in for a chat.
07:34With rapier wit, the President cast aside any embarrassment by declaring that the Prime
07:42Minister has nothing to conceal from the President of the United States.
07:48This warmth came after testing times between our leaders in the early 1940s. The kinship and
07:57friendship of many centuries provided great reassurance to my late grandfather, King George VI, as he did to
08:05my late mother. It means every bit as much to me. Of course, my late mother met no fewer than
08:1313 serving Presidents,
08:15thankfully all of them fully clothed. The first President I had the honour of meeting at the age of 10
08:23in 1959,
08:24when he came to Balmoral, was President Eisenhower, who had served as Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces
08:31during World War II, at a most critical time in the darkest days of the 20th century.
08:39American leadership helped rebuild a shattered continent, playing a decisive role as a defender of freedom in Europe.
08:48We and I shall never forget that, not least as freedom is again under attack following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
08:59Today, our partnerships in NATO and AUKUS deepen our technological and military cooperation
09:07and ensure that together we can meet the challenges of an increasingly complex and contested world.
09:14And speaking of submarine alliances, there was one particular AUKUS predecessor, launched from a UK
09:23shipyard in 1944, that served for the majority of her life, attached to the fourth submarine squadron in
09:33Australia, playing a critical role during the war in the Pacific. Her name?
09:41HMS Trump. So tonight, Mr President, I am delighted to present to you as a personal gift.
09:52The original bell, which hung on the conning tower of your valiant namesake,
09:58may it stand as a testimony to our nation's shared history and shining future. And should you ever need to
10:10get
10:10hold of us or just give us a ring?
10:28For 250 years, the ingenuity and imagination of the people of the United States have been an inspiration to the
10:35world.
10:35This land of opportunity has nourished some of humanity's greatest minds from the industrial
10:41age to the space age. So many miracles of the modern world have been and still are invented in America.
10:47Indeed, we have followed the voyage of Artemis II, or Artemis II, as my family and I might like to
10:53call her,
10:54with close attention. Now, I know you have big plans for the Moon, Mr President, but I have actually checked
11:03the papers,
11:03and I rather suspect it is already part of the Commonwealth, I'm afraid.
11:09Ladies and gentlemen, on this visit, on this week's visit, I look forward to meeting the people and communities of
11:15this dynamic country,
11:16including celebrating some of the work of my King's Trust, which it has been doing in these communities,
11:23helping give young people a chance to succeed across America in this year when we mark 50 years of the
11:30Trust. Can you believe it?
11:32Every year, millions of Britons journey to this remarkable country to experience its glorious national parks,
11:39soaring mountains and ancient forests, from the peaks of the Pacific Northwest, to the rugged shores of the Atlantic,
11:47from the vast expanses of the West, to the sweeping prairies and canyons, the natural beauty of this land is
11:53found in every corner.
11:55And in sport, in just a few weeks, the United States and Canada will be among those to welcome the
12:03world as hosts of the FIFA World Cup.
12:05So in one sense, Mr. President, as heads of state, we are joint hosts.
12:11We call this game, by the way, football, Mr. President, and I can only say, as the head of state
12:19of five competing countries,
12:20I will be watching the matches closely and with great enthusiasm. After all, we always like favourable odds.
12:28So this city, Washington, D.C., is the home of more Shakespeare folios than anywhere in the world.
12:35Eighty-two copies are carefully preserved and shared at the Folger Library.
12:39And at this time, when the search for peace in the world is more critical than ever,
12:43I can only turn to Shakespeare's genius to remind us of the plea for peace spoken by the Duke of
12:50Burgundy at the conclusion of Henry V.
12:54My speech entreats that I may know why gentle peace should not bless us with her former qualities.
13:03Thank you, Mr. President and Mrs. Trump, for your splendid dinner this evening, which, may I say, is a very
13:11considerable improvement on the Boston Tea Party.
13:16So, whether your cup contains tea, wine, Scotch whisky, bourbon, or even cola, let us raise our glasses and voices
13:26as we toast the past, the present, and the future of our two proud and allied nations.
13:37To the United States and the United Kingdom, God bless both our countries.
13:46Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Thank you.
13:52There's your back. Great job. That's so beautiful.
13:55That's beautiful.
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