In town pool report # 7: POTUS speaks.

After the anthems, POTUS and King Charles walked down from the podium and walked past all the military service members in apparent review before returning to the podium.

Trump began speaking at 11:05 pm. He welcomed the King and Queen and called it "a tremendous privilege" to host them. He said it might seem ironic to just the British royal family in the year of America's 250th anniversary, but said the patriots had blood that flows with "Anglo Saxon courage" and drew connections between the two countries. He praised Queen Elizabeth II and noted a tree she planted on the White House grounds years ago.

"American have had no closer friends than the British," he said and noted his mother was born in Scotland. He joked he and Melania would not match his parents 63 years of marriage.

Trump said his mother lives the royal family and thought Charles was "cute."

"My mother had a crush on Charles," he said.

Trump praised Charles and the "special relationship" between the two nations and said he believes "the cherished bond" would continue.

He called the US and UK the "two most exceptional nations the world has ever known." He ended at 11:17 am.

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Jim Puzzanghera

Washington Bureau

The Boston Globe

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