MAGA members of Congress served up standing ovations and bipartisan applause on Tuesday during King Charles’ address, even as the royal delivered veiled criticisms of President Donald Trump.
Charles walked into a packed House chamber to deliver his address to a joint session where he promoted a series of topics the president has often railed against.
But despite the British monarch offering up strong rebukes of some of the president’s actions since returning to office, the president’s closest “America First” supporters joined Democrats and rose to their feet numerous times to applaud as the king spoke.
Throughout the address, King Charles touted partnerships and the importance of the NATO alliances.
He issued a call to fight climate change, reminded Congress of the importance of its checks on the executive branch, promoted the independence of the courts, and reproached them, saying that words from the U.S. matter as the president has grown increasingly erratic in his attacks on social media.
One of the loudest moments of applause came when King Charles called for the defense of Ukraine. The entire room, including lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, rose to their feet to clap.
It was a strange sight to see as Republicans have been largely split over continued aid to Ukraine.
The king’s nod to checks and balances also got a standing ovation.
“The U.S. Supreme Court Historical Society has calculated that Magna Carta is cited in at least 160 Supreme Court cases since 1789, not least as the foundation of the principle that executive power is subject to checks and balances,” Charles said.
Lawmakers throughout the room clapped for the line, even as Republicans have been accused of largely abdicating that responsibility and backing whatever policy Trump has called for in his second term.
At another point during his address, the king called for the safeguarding of nature, calling it “our most precious and irreplaceable asset.”
While Trump has often railed against efforts to combat climate change and green energy initiatives, Charles has long been a proponent of climate action.
It was not clear that some of the GOP members even realized they were clapping along as he promoted climate action without ever directly calling it such.
At the end of the speech, King Charles also insisted that words from the U.S. still matter as do its actions on the global stage.
“Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice-President, distinguished ladies and gentlemen, America’s words carry weight and meaning, as they have since Independence,” Charles said. “The actions of this great nation matter even more.”
“And so, to the United States of America, on your 250th birthday, let our two countries rededicate ourselves to each other in the selfless service of our peoples and of all the peoples of the world,” he concluded.
Lawmakers throughout the chamber jumped to their feet to clap at the end of the address, which in many ways was a call against isolationism and a rallying cry for globalism.
Had a Democratic president delivered such remarks, MAGA lawmakers would have largely expressed outrage and rushed to conservative TV networks to decry the messenger.
But when the words came from the king of England, they were met with bipartisan cheers and decorum, which have often been absent in recent years as divisive politics have reigned supreme.
