After landmark tours from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey, meetings and dinners and a trademark surge in Twitter activity, US President Donald Trump travelled to Ireland on Wednesday afternoon as his state visit to the UK comes to its conclusion.
Here are the talking points and highlights from the three days Mr Trump spent in the UK:
Tweets of the trip
Typically it was the President’s own tweets that proved the focal point of the trip, and before the President had even landed at Stansted Airport he launched a Twitter tirade at Sadiq Khan.
He branded the London mayor a “stone cold loser” after Mr Khan had described him as an example of “a growing global threat” and compared his language with that of “fascists of the 20th century”.
.@SadiqKhan, who by all accounts has done a terrible job as Mayor of London, has been foolishly “nasty” to the visiting President of the United States, by far the most important ally of the United Kingdom. He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me……
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2019
Another hallmark of Mr Trump’s stay was to dismiss reports of protests against him during his visit as “fake news”, instead claiming there had been “tremendous crowds of well wishers”.
After thousands gathered on London’s streets on Tuesday, Mr Trump told his followers the demonstrations were “organised flops”, saying the larger crowds consisted of his supporters.
I kept hearing that there would be “massive” rallies against me in the UK, but it was quite the opposite. The big crowds, which the Corrupt Media hates to show, were those that gathered in support of the USA and me. They were big & enthusiastic as opposed to the organized flops!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2019
“I kept hearing that there would be ‘massive’ rallies against me in the UK, but it was quite the opposite,” he tweeted.
“The big crowds, which the Corrupt Media hates to show, were those that gathered in support of the USA and me.”
Street demonstrations
This was fewer than an estimated 250,000 who gathered when the US leader visited last year, but once again the 20ft Trump Baby blimp took to the skies above Parliament Square.
The protests were also attended by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who Mr Trump refused to meet during his stay, describing him as a “somewhat negative force”.
We stand for peace, justice and inclusivity.#TrumpProtest #TrumpUKVisit pic.twitter.com/tWreuxlM5w
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) June 4, 2019
Trump supporters also marched, though Lewis Metcalfe, 28, who was in Parliament Square wearing a Make America Great Again cap, admitted himself they were “a minority”.
A royal fist bump?
However it appears the president actually clenched her hand rather than shaking it with a flat hand.
Quote of the trip
“When you’re dealing in trade everything is on the table so NHS or anything else, a lot more than that, but everything will be on the table, absolutely,” said Mr Trump.
The President would later backtrack, telling Good Morning Britain’s Piers Morgan “I don’t see it being on the table” as the NHS was “something that I would not consider part of trade”.
Political meetings
Away from the news cameras, Mr Trump spoke with a number of politicians during his stay, including Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage, who said the pair had a “good meeting” and the president “really believes in Brexit”.
Good meeting with President Trump – he really believes in Brexit and is loving his trip to London.
— Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage) June 4, 2019
Meanwhile Mr Trump had a phone call with Boris Johnson and face-to-face meeting with Jeremy Hunt, both of whom he said would do a “very good job” as the next leader of the Conservative Party.
Pictures of the trip
Mr Trump may have been less pleased with the sight of the baby blimp in his likeness flying over London, an inflatable which proved a golden opportunity for photographic creativity.
“What moved me was his passion for future generations, he’s really not doing this for him, he’s doing this for future generations,” Mr Trump said.
“I did mention a number of things, I did say the United States right now has among the cleanest climates.”
Whose horse is that?
During a tour of a special collection of treasures at Buckingham Palace, Mr Trump failed when asked to recognise a polished pewter statue of a horse – a piece he had himself gifted to the Queen at tea with her at Windsor Castle last year – but his wife Melania gamely came to the rescue.
Video moment
Standing at the grave, the President touched his hand on the wreath and kept his eyes closed during the prayer.
Looks like an ice cream
Thee photographer’s flash diffuser fell off their camera and landed at the feet of Charles, who promptly picked it up and returned it, but not before he laughingly quipped: “Looks like an ice cream.”
Fine dining
A contentious moment saw Mr Trump appear to breach accepted royal protocol by touching the Queen on the back as she rose for his toast, however the Queen seemed unperturbed.
D-Day
The President read an excerpt from the prayer president Franklin D Roosevelt delivered by radio on the evening of June 6, 1944.
