Donald Trump has been facing a backlash after mocking President Biden for being seated 14 rows back at the Queen’s funeral.
On September 19, Queen Elizabeth II was given an emotional sendoff at Westminster Abbey where the Royal Family gathered along with two thousand VIP guests – including foreign leaders and representatives – to pay their respects to Britain’s longest-reigning monarch in history.
Among the attendees was also US President Joe Biden who was seated in front of Czech Republic Prime Minister Petr Fiala and behind Poland’s president Andrzej Duda.
Sitting next to the 46th US president was his wife, Jill Biden, who had Switzerland’s Ignazio Cassis seated on her left.
Following the funeral, Trump took the seating arrangement as an opportunity to mock Biden and suggest that he is the reason why no one respects America any longer.
“This is what’s happened to America in just two short years. No respect! However, a good time for our President to get to know the leaders of certain Third World countries,” the former president posted.
“If I were president, they wouldn’t have sat me back there—and our Country would be much different than it is right now!”
He later doubled down on his comment saying: “In Real Estate, like in Politics and in Life, LOCATION IS EVERYTHING!”
Trump, however, was soon silenced by experts who revealed the real reason why Biden was assigned a seat 14 rows back from the front.
As it happens, the Royal protocol dictates that any world leader is outranked by leaders of the Commonwealth realms.
In return, this meant that Biden was seated nine rows behind Canada’s Justin Trudeau during the ceremonial funeral – and the situation would likely be the same should Trump be the President.
“Trump would be seated exactly where they told him – the end of story,” one user wrote in response to Trump’s comments.
“President of the US or not, no exceptions,” another said.
As Lord Robin Renwick, who previously served as the British ambassador to the States, pointed out, however, exceptions can be made – such as was the exception allowing Biden to arrive at the funeral in his presidential limo while other leaders rode buses over concerns of traffic.
“You can pretend it’s alphabetical order but it’s not. Biden isn’t very ego-driven but he’s going to be near the front. Macron [the president of France] would have hysterics if he wasn’t given a place of honor,” Renwick said of the seating arrangement plans as he suggested he felt sorry for the Palace’s protocol office prior to the funeral.
“Olaf Scholz [the chancellor of Germany] wouldn’t care. You’ve got to say to yourself: ‘Who is going to have a hissy fit?’”
Suggesting that the US President does have special privileges, he added: “We don’t permit huge swarms of protectors to be around them, although you have to rein off for the president of the United States. He is always surrounded by Secret Service agents wherever he goes.”
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