An expert lip reader says she has identified a subtle, but scary, message President Donald Trump delivered to King Charles during yesterday’s historic state visit to the White House.
According to lip reader Nicola Hickling, Trump evidently brought up both Saturday night’s shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and Russian President Vladimir Putin within minutes of King Charles’ arrival at the White House.
“This shooting …” Trump appeared to tell the British monarch after exchanging greetings on the South Lawn, lip reader Hickling told The New York Post.
“I’d rather not stand about here too long,” Charles supposedly quipped in response, according to Hickling, who is a Forensic Lip Reading Expert & Analyst at LipReader.
“I feel I shouldn’t be here,” Charles continued.
President Trump then asked if Charles was OK before saying, “It’s not a good thing,” according to Hickling.
“I wasn’t prepared, but now I am prepared,” Trump continued before flipping the discussion to Putin.
“So right now, I am talking to Putin,” the president told the king.
“He wants war.”
Charles, in Hickling’s account, tried to deviate from that topic, saying: “We will discuss that later.”
However, Hickling said Trump continued, even warning: “I’ve got a feeling … if he did what he said, he will wipe out the population.”
“Another time,” Charles repeated before the conversation shifted to Trump’s $400 million White House ballroom project.
“You can see right through there,” Trump said.
“Right the way through to the ballroom. Would you like to see?’
“I’m sure you’ll show us,” Charles said, prompting Trump to respond: “That’s right, you’re right.”
The first couple then invited the royals into the White House after Charles asked, “Which way do we go?”
“We’re going this way,” Trump said, indicating the executive mansion.
The couples enjoyed a traditional English afternoon tea — complete with tiny sandwiches, mini-cakes and loose-leaf tea poured through a strainer.
After departing the White House, the king and queen attended a massive garden party at the British ambassador’s residence.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) were among the high-profile politicians in attendance with the royal couple.
King Charles’ visit comes at a challenging moment for U.S.-UK relations as he hopes to emphasise a bond between the United Kingdom and the United States that is so strong it can withstand the political turmoil of the moment.
In recent weeks, President Trump’s relationship with Prime Minister Keir Starmer has taken a particularly sour turn over the past several months as the president has sought to rally international support for the war in Iran.
King Charles, accompanied by Queen Camilla, is expected to meet with Trump at the White House this morning, and then is scheduled to address the U.S. Congress at 3 p.m. ET — the body’s first address from a British monarch since Queen Elizabeth II‘s in 1991.
Charles and Camilla are also due to visit the 9/11 Memorial in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday.