A Tale of Two State Visits

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity.”

Thus Charles Dickens begins “A Tale of Two Cities.” Would that the greatest of all novelists could return to us for a week. For it would take Dickens in his prime to do full justice to President Trump’s state visit to Britain this week.

At its best, a state visit to Britain dazzles the foreign head of state. Not much dazzles Trump, aside from his own very stable genius, but being greeted by Her Majesty the Queen on Monday should come close. She has, after all reigned since Trump was five. She has been receiving presidents since Dwight D. Eisenhower.

But this seems certain also to be the worst of state visits. For Tuesday, the group Stop Trump has promised “a diverse Carnival of Resistance,” at which they will doubtless chant childishly: “Say it loud, say it clear, Donald Trump’s not welcome here!” Up to a quarter of a million people are expected to participate in anti-Trump protests in London and elsewhere. If permission is given, the 20-foot-tall inflatable “Trump baby” will hover over Trafalgar Square.