An analyst was surprised after King Charles III directed comments at President Donald Trump in his address to Congress on Tuesday.
David Chalian, senior vice president, Washington bureau chief and political director for CNN, commented that King Charles encouraged Trump to support Ukraine, praised his country's Navy and military after Trump had questioned it, and reinforced his dedication to preserving the world's environment, areas where Trump has disagreed with the monarch.
Chalian described the significant moment in a conversation with CNN anchor Jake Tapper.
"And did not hide from them at all," Chalian said. "I mean, I think a speech that was putting democratic values, the rule of law, the power of alliances, even a specific — on the support of Ukraine's defense — these stand in complete opposition. And in fact, some of them are the very things that Donald Trump sort of rails against when he's complaining about Europe or the UK, specifically."
The move highlights the ideological differences between the two leaders, Chalian explained.
"Now, King Charles doesn't come in here itching for a fight on it," Chalian added. "He comes in with his position to be above it a bit and in his you know, very British, stiff upper lip kind of way. It's not that he was trying to get in a fight with President Trump, but he couldn't have seized the opportunity more to really stand clear on the importance of these things with a value system underneath it that is in contrast to a lot of what Donald Trump has been presenting on the world stage as it comes to these alliances."