Liberals took to Twitter to condemn President Donald Trump for allegedly embarrassing the Queen of England.
The first “embarrassment” came as soon as Trump and First Lady Melania met Queen Elizabeth II. Trump’s critics chastised him for not “bowing” to the Queen, claiming it’s royal protocol.
But actually, Trump was under no obligation to bow to the queen, according to Harper’s Bazaar. He appears to have given a small nod when exiting his vehicle, while Melania neither bowed nor curtsied. Harper’s points out that the official royal website says men should perform a “neck bow,” basically a head nod — which Trump appears to have done (whether the Queen noticed that or not is a different matter).
Further, “Americans do not curtsy or bow to foreign sovereigns,” royal expert Marlene Koenig told Harper’s. The Queen doesn’t even expect foreign heads of state to bow to her, and oh by the way, Obama didn’t bow when he first met her, though he did refer to her as “Your Majesty.” Michelle Obama went so far as to put her arm around the Queen — well outside of protocol — but it didn’t bother the Queen at all.
Even before meeting the Queen, Trump’s critics claimed he kept her waiting. CNN’s royal commentator, Victoria Arbiter, challenged that narrative.
Trump was also scorned for briefly walking in front of the Queen.
In the clip, Trump appears to be walking just slightly ahead of the Queen when she begins to walk at an angle and ends up behind him. Trump stops and waits for her, and proceeds walking again. The Queen does not appear bothered at all. At worst Trump is guilty of not properly realizing where the Queen is, but to turn this awkward moment into some sort of international slight is an overreach.