Britain is no longer the workshop of the world. She no longer builds vast ships, textiles or home appliances for the world market. But there is one thing that Britain continues to do better than its rivals: pageantry, pomp, and circumstance.
And last week, every stop was pulled out to please one man: Donald J. Trump.
A fly-past from the Red Arrows, 120 horses, 1300 soldiers, a 41 gun salute, exchanges of gold, diamonds and rubies. The Mughal emperor Jahangir himself would have been satisfied at the spectacle thrown by King Charles III.
Surrounded by castle walls on all sides, attended by the rich and powerful on both sides of the Atlantic, protected by a swarm of police five miles around, and not a single member of the public in sight – Donald Trump was indeed very pleased:
“This is truly one of the highest honours of my life.”
The British establishment had fulfilled its main goal, Trump’s ego was thoroughly boosted.
Deals and diplomacy
Inflating Trump’s ego had a few purposes; chief among them were business deals. The trade agreements made on the back of this visit have been met with sonorous fanfare in the establishment media.
Private equity firm Blackstone committed £100 billion into the UK. Tech giants Nvidia, Microsoft, Open AI, and Google all promised to invest billions in AI and data centres. And energy companies Centrica, X-energy, Holtec, and Last Energy agreed to deals on nuclear energy in Britain.
Trump candidly remarked “I think it was a better deal for you then us.” But this is far from the truth.
The 25 percent tariff on steel was firmly non-negotiable, and the 10 percent tariff on most goods exported to the USA is still in place. So real trading relations are still far worse for the UK than they were before April.
As the Financial Times’ chief political commentator Robert Shrimsley aptly summarised: “on the stuff that really matters… Trump hasn’t given an inch.”
The FT also quoted a top British executive at a capital investment firm who said: “A bunch of these things were probably going to happen anyway.”
Similarly, on the Ukraine war, Trump offered no American security guarantees for Europe – despite pleas from His Majesty himself!
A circus with no bread
The deals and diplomacy were a mixed bag. But this state visit had a secondary role to play: to present a dazzling spectacle to the British public, in an attempt to shore up the image of Starmer’s failing regime, and distract the hoi polloi from the drudgery of daily life.
But on this count, as well, the event fell short of the mark.
Ordinary people were completely absent from the whole proceedings. There were no public processions, theatrical displays, or pageantry for people to see and enjoy.
Mark Stone from Sky News put it very well when he wrote that “there was a strange sterility to the whole visit.”
And what better way to broadcast to the world that the British state is a loyal servant of the rich and powerful than ‘our’ politicians and royals swanning around with Silicon Valley elites in gilded dining halls?
UK Government foodbank handout at Windsor Castle posh soup kitchen (£108,000 cost according to Foreign Office) to a select few (many of them immigrants) on State welfare benefits. (see pic below) pic.twitter.com/NrOE8Md7Bs
— Art of Kuriology (⧖) 〓〓 (@strangecurios) September 20, 2025
To that end, the ‘magic’ of this spectacle will backfire – especially for Keir Starmer.
The last few weeks have been a complete disaster for the Prime Minister. His premiership is openly in question, and he is widely regarded as the most hated man in Britain.
Meanwhile, across the pond, Trump has been facing a ‘summer of discontent’ of his own. His cross-class ‘MAGA’ coalition has begun rupturing, especially over the question of the President’s links with Jeffery Epstein.
As the cold winds of autumn arrive, energy bills will rise, and the cost of living will increase. The circus thrown by the old, ailing King will be forgotten by most.
Meanwhile, Britain’s trading relations will continue to deteriorate, as it is dwarfed by the bigger powers. And Trump will continue to make Britain fork out for her security, heaping more misery upon ordinary people.
In such circumstances, perhaps someone should have reminded ‘Sir’ Starmer, King Charles, and King Donald a lesson from ancient history.
To placate their own proletarians – the poor and downtrodden masses – Roman emperors provided lavish spectacles, and gave them plenty of bread to stave off popular revolt.
But our modern-day emperors and slave owners kept their circus behind castle walls, and there is no bread to be seen.
“The real terrorists are behind the castle walls!”
Finn Croker, Thames Valley
On Wednesday 18 September, comrades from the Thames Valley RCP woke up to the visit of US President Donald Trump on our doorstep.
The atmosphere was draconian, with hundreds of police officers drafted in from forces across the country.
A few hours prior, four people were arrested for “malicious communication” after projecting a picture of Jeffery Epstein and Donald Trump onto the walls of Windsor Castle, leading to many saying that they’d been arrested for merely upsetting the President.
It felt very much like a police state. Yet this did not intimidate us – we were determined to attend the counter-demonstration to put forward a communist perspective on Trump’s visit.
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From the outset, it was clear we were the only presence from the left. The crowd was made up largely of MAGA supporters, with only a handful of liberals scattered among them.
As soon as we arrived, we engaged with international media outlets, many of whom were eager to interview us. Our cardboard sign, declaring “The American Century is Over!”, and “Down with Trump, Down with Starmer, Down with the Billionaires!” drew significant attention.
Many MAGA supporters were left baffled by our stance, opposing both Trump and Starmer alike.
Meanwhile, the authorities deployed police on horseback and sniffer dogs in the streets. One woman, Christine, pointed out the irony to us:
“The police have it all wrong. The real terrorists are behind the castle walls!”
For our new branch, this was our first intervention of this kind. We sold numerous papers and pamphlets, and we made valuable new contacts.
Thames Valley Communists outside Windsor Castle now! pic.twitter.com/B9H60a04Jo
— Ravi Mistry (@RaVz94) September 17, 2025
The Communists of Windsor, and across the Thames Valley, say loud and clear:
- Down with Trump!
- Down with Starmer!
- Down with the billionaires!
