King Charles III’s royal visit to the White House is a concerning sign of where his true allegiance lies, one political strategist has claimed.
Steve Schmidt, co-founder of The Lincoln Project and the Save America Movement, warned that the British monarch’s state visit to the U.S.—which kicks off in Washington on Monday and includes time spent with Donald Trump—will be seen as hypocritical amid his brother’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
“Charles is putting the crown into a position of: Hey, when I’m on English soil, I condemn my brother,” Schmidt told the Daily Beast’s Executive Editor Hugh Dougherty. “But when I am on American soil, I make clear that really what Andrew did in the issue at hand is that he got caught.”
The king’s disgraced brother, former Prince Andrew, has had a long fall from grace following revelations about his relationship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. That downfall culminated on Feb. 19, Andrew’s 66th birthday, when he was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Police had been investigating claims that, while a prince, he shared confidential information with Epstein, who died in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019.
Andrew was also accused of sexual abuse by the late Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide at 41 last year. Giuffre said Epstein trafficked her to his powerful friends and alleged that she was forced to have sex with Mountbatten-Windsor. The former prince denied the allegations but reached a settlement with Giuffre in 2022.
The British monarch has since stripped Mountbatten-Windsor of his royal titles and denounced his brother.
But Schmidt argues that Charles’ visit—officially billed as a celebration of the 250th anniversary of American independence—reverses that progress.
“There were no secrets in the royal family about what Andrew was and is and has been. And the settlement to Virginia Giuffre makes that clear,” Schmidt said on The Daily Beast Podcast. “But you will have a felon, a sexual predator... being toasted by the head of the Church of England.”
Trump has repeatedly denied any involvement in Epstein’s crimes.
What’s more, Schmidt said the king not meeting with any of Epstein’s survivors underscores that Andrew’s only wrongdoing is that he was “caught.”
“Not about the wrong of it, not about the evil of it, not about any of it,” Schmidt added.
The Palace, the White House, and legal representatives for Andrew did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast’s request for comment.
The king’s controversial visit to the U.S. comes at a time when his approval ratings have slipped—something he and Trump have in common. In addition to criticism over his handling of his younger brother, the King has also dealt with months of Trump publicly savaging the British prime minister amid his war on Iran. For Charles to look the other way, Schmidt said, is another form of humiliation for the British public.
Charles and Queen Camilla’s four-day excursion will last until Thursday. Among other events, they will enjoy a “private tea” with Trump and Melania and attend a state banquet. The British monarch will also deliver an address to Congress, the first royal to do so since his mother in 1991.
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