Queen Elizabeth welcomed Mr. Trump to Buckingham Palace, while he engaged in an ugly dispute with London’s mayor, calling him a “stone cold loser.”
LONDON — Queen Elizabeth II welcomed President Trump to Buckingham Palace on Monday with an honor guard and royal artillery salute, while Mr. Trump carried on an ugly dispute with the mayor of London, whom he called a “stone cold loser” and said was doing a terrible job of running Britain’s capital city.
The juxtaposition of high pageantry and low name-calling, on the first day of Mr. Trump’s state visit to Britain, captured yet again the odd swath that this president cuts on the world stage: impulsive and erratic, delighted by a lavish welcome but preoccupied by petty feuds or events back home.
It also showcased the deep ambivalence Mr. Trump’s visit has elicited. The British public mostly rejects Mr. Trump and his policies, but the governing elite recognizes the need to reinforce the alliance with the United States as it negotiates Britain’s exit from the European Union.
Members of Britain’s royalty did their part, treating Mr. Trump and the first lady, Melania Trump, to lunch and a lavish state banquet at Buckingham Palace. Mr. and Mrs. Trump had afternoon tea with the Prince of Wales and his wife, Duchess of Cornwall, at their residence, Clarence House. The Trumps also placed a wreath at Westminster Abbey, where England’s queens and kings are crowned, married and laid to rest.
But the stately narrative carried a more rough-edged subtext. Even before Air Force One touched down outside London, Mr. Trump was on Twitter, accusing the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, with whom he has feuded since 2016 over immigration, terrorism and other issues, of being “nasty” to him, while misspelling the mayor’s name and mocking his stature.
“Kahn reminds me very much of our dumb and incompetent Mayor of NYC, de Blasio, who has also done a terrible job — only half his height,” Mr. Trump said in a message posted on Twitter, as he invoked another pet target, Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York. Mr. Khan, he said, should pay attention to London’s crime rate.
The dispute played out all day, with Conservative politicians stepping forward to defend Mr. Trump and criticize Mr. Khan. It was a jarring counterpoint to the gauzy images of the president meeting the royal family, but it played to Mr. Trump’s desire, even when visiting one of America’s closest allies, to have an adversary.
