(MANDEL NGAN)

Paris (AFP) – US President Donald Trump’s trip to Europe unlikely to be forgotten in a hurry by any of his hosts.

AFP selects five key moments from his three day state visit to Britain, whirlwind trip for talks in Ireland and pilgrimage to France for the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

– ‘Stone cold loser’ –

Trump’s plane had not even touched down in Britain before he sparked his first controversy by calling London mayor Sadiq Khan — a critic of his red carpet welcome in the UK — a “stone cold loser”.

He even took aim at the London mayor’s stature, saying he reminded him of New York’s mayor Bill de Blasio — no friend of Trump — “only half his height”.

Khan, for his part, refused to rise to the bait, telling CNN that “this is the sort of behaviour I would expect from an 11 year old.”

“It’s not for me to respond in a like manner.”

– A ‘wall’ for Ireland?

Trump’s visit to Ireland for talks with Prime Minister Leo Varadkar was limited to the Shannon airport. But that still left enough time for raised eyebrows.

With Varadkar’s face frozen in astonishment, Trump initially appeared to indicate that Ireland wanted a wall on its border with Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK, as he wants with Mexico.

Ireland, which is deeply concerned by the effects of Brexit and the risk of a hard border, has insisted on the need for freedom of movement between the sides.

“I think it will all work out very well, and also for you with your wall, your border,” he said. Varadkar responded: “I think one thing we want to avoid, of course, is a wall or border between us.”

Varadkar later attempted to excuse Trump, saying with nearly 200 countries in the world “I don’t think it’s possible for him to have an in-depth and detailed understanding of issues in every single country.”

  

– ‘Greatest Americans’ –

Commentators applauded Trump for a solemn and emotional speech in Normandy Thursday that captured the essence of D-Day by paying tribute to the surviving veterans and friendship with France.

“You are among the very greatest Americans who will ever live. You are the pride of our nation,” Trump said in front of around 60 veterans, many of them in wheelchairs.

“You are the glory of our republic and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts,” he said in words that moved many of those present to tears. 

– ‘She knows me very well’

While Trump usually causes a frenzy wherever he goes, it is unlikely that Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II was overly fazed by his presence.

After all, this is a ruler who has held the throne since 1952 and who has hosted guests now figures from the history books, ranging from Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie, to shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran or Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.

It may never be known what the queen thinks of Trump but the US president described her as an “incredible lady”.

“I feel I know her so well and she certainly knows me very well right now,” he said.

– A tight fit –

The centrepiece of Trump’s state visit to Britain was the glittering state dinner at Buckingham Palace attended by the queen and other members of the royal family in a perfectly choreographed event.

But it failed to escape the attention of observers that the dinner suit worn by Trump was, to say the least, a little tight with his jacket soaring above his waistcoat.

“Did someone put Trump’s jacket in the drier and shrink it?” asked one user on Twitter.

Disclaimer: Validity of the above story is for 7 Days from original date of publishing. Source: AFP.