In many ways, Brits admire the US. But as America hits 250, they say one man defines it: Trump

https://apnews.com/article/trump-britain-250-america-king-7a13dbcba29b2fdfc52640dfd8b0bea8

In many ways, Brits admire the US. But as America hits 250, they say one man defines it: Trump
By LAURIE KELLMAN
Updated 11:02 PM CDT, May 20, 2026

WASHINGTON, England (AP) — Loud. Broken. Baffling.

Ask Brits what they think of their former colonies in 2026, and they note these long-held views of America and Americans. But after 250 years of independence from Britain, the country’s former rulers cannot discuss the United States without mentioning President Donald Trump, almost always before listing the many qualities they admire and appreciate in the upstart nation across the pond.

“It’s Trump’s world now, isn’t it?” says Mark Keightley, a printer technician who serves the Cambridge area, about an hour north of London.

Over the past year, The Associated Press asked Britons — from George Washington’s ancestral home near Scotland to Cambridge, Bristol and London — a neutral question: “What do you think of America now?” Virtually every answer, even from those like Keightley who support some of the president’s policies, begins with a considered pause, followed by a crisp euphemism for Trump and the Trump era.

“Your president ...” “The current state of politics …" and “He …" with no ambiguity about who, are typical. And they suggest as much about the British perception of their former colony as the commentary that tends to come next. Is it possible to talk about America now without referencing Trump, they are asked? The unanimous answer, according to these interviews: No.

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