Even though King Charles and President Donald Trump’s friendship has been standing on shaky ground, it has remained stable. The monarch turned a blind eye to the POUTUS threatening Canada and insulting Ukrainian president Valadymr Zelenskyy and in return, the 47th leader of the U.S. announced his love for Charles and gushed about Prince William’s handomeness.
Sweeping pressing issues under the carpet has been the crux of their odd friendship and lavishing Trump with perks — a second visit to the palace and the rumor of Charles planning to make America the next associate member of the Commonwealth. The latter is yet to get any official backing, but even the mere mention rumor was enough to stroke Trump’s ego, who declared his love for the king.
But what will Charles or Britain’s Keir Starmer say next when Donald Trump decides to flaunt his “friendship” with Vladimir Putin in their face, especially now that Russia has been formally declared a major security threat to Britain? The king is no longer dealing with a man whose decisions and associations only affect others — he is now facing a man who promised to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine within 24 hours after getting elected and has barely made any progress since he just can’t seem to be a tough leader with Putin. Of course, all that dormant need to dominate someone came into play when Zelenskyy visited the White House.
Dan Jarvis, the security minister of Britain, made the announcement and confirmed that Russian agents working in the country on behalf of Putin and/or his administration will be forced to register their activities. If they don’t, the punishment is five years in prison.
He called Russia an “acute threat to the U.K.’s national security in wake of the deadly and invasive actions they have encountered in the last few years, which includes cyber attacks which aimed to “destabilise and disrupt our democracy by promoting pro-Russian messaging during our elections,” the Salisbury and Amesbury poisonings in 2018 when a deadly nerve agent was used by Russian agents in Britain, and just weeks ago, six Russian agents were convicted under the biggest spying investigation in the country. The invasion of Ukraine remains Russia’s major act of hostility in the eyes of the British government.
In his statement to The Telegraph, Jarvis condemned Russia and declared that Britain will not be tolerating their ill-will and dishonesty.
“As Security Minister, I see first-hand the disruptive activity conducted by Russia, beyond their barbaric and illegal war against Ukraine, including their attempts to infiltrate our democracy and sow discord in our society.
We will not stand for it.”
Britain will be adding Russia to the highest “enhanced tier” in the upcoming Foreign Influence Registration Scheme (Firs) that will go into motion on July 1, 2025, with the power to force anyone residing in the U.K. but working for a foreign power to announce their association or face the consequences.
Imagine how Charles’ conversation on this topic with Trump would go. Will he have to make peace with the president being “angry” with Putin, like he just stole his beanie and is not actively trying to infiltrate Britain’s security, or will he face the classic “you started it” argument? After all, that’s all Ukraine has managed to get from Trump so far.
Published: Apr 3, 2025 08:02 am