Trump’s dinner: why the First Minister should have gone
Desmond Clifford
When the King entertained President Trump to dinner at Windsor castle the other night, the seat marked “First Minister, Wales” was empty, or had at least been passed on to someone else.
First Minister Eluned Morgan declined her invitation to attend. She cited a sensitive prior engagement, which I take at face value. She confused the issue somewhat, though, by adding further comments in an interview noting she has areas of strong disagreement with the President, implying that she wouldn’t have gone in any case. She ought to clear this up.
A First Minister should always have the courage of their convictions. If her position is that she genuinely couldn’t go for the reason she stated, but that she would have gone if she could, then she should say so. If her position is that she would not have gone in any case because of her strong policy differences with President Trump on Gaza and other issues, then she should make that clear too.
Leaving the Welsh public to guess about the First Minister’s motives does her no credit. For completeness, opposition leader Darren Millar says she should have gone while Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth says he wouldn’t have gone either.
Activists
If she had attended, the First Minister would have had some criticism from her activists. There’s the first problem. The Welsh Government is too bothered with impressing its activists rather than the wider Welsh public. The relative lack of electoral competition up till now has encouraged this political parochialism. Declining support for Labour is, in part, a reaction to a party which talks to itself more than to Wales as a whole.
Anti-Trump rhetoric is hardly a radical position in Welsh politics. Few people like him. Opinion polling shows Tories don’t like him much more than Labour. Max Hastings, no one’s idea of an agitprop leftie, marched against him in London last week. Even one third of Reform voters say they don’t much care for the president. His hectoring, humourless braggadocio just doesn’t translate very well into Welsh or British political culture.
Downton-Disneyland
President Trump clearly loves the Downton-Disneyland version of Britain presented to him at Windsor. He seems genuinely to like Starmer (who, in fairness, is proving quite good at foreign affairs) and just wishes that nice Sir Keir wasn’t so wrecked by all that European social democracy weirdness. Trump would explode if he spent a day at the Senedd. Mark Drakeford and Mick Antoniw make Bernie Sanders look like John Redwood; Jane Hutt makes Hilary Clinton look like Teresa May.
Snubbing Trump is, I should think, a popular cause in Wales. Around half the population (UK-wide) thought he shouldn’t have been invited in the first place. Neither Eluned Morgan nor Rhun ap Iorwerth will lose votes over their Trump position, and Darren Millar won’t gain any.
But I still think that the First Minister should have attended the dinner if it was humanly possible to do so. Her position was very different from Ed Davey’s, for example. Davey was invited because he’s a party leader. He got good publicity for declining his invitation on the grounds of his objections to Trump’s policy on Gaza and Ukraine. Fair enough. Eluned Morgan was not invited because she heads a political party but because she’s the First Minister, the leader of this nation. Her job, literally, is to represent Wales to the world.
John Swinney
Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney did attend. Unsurprisingly, he faced some criticism within the SNP but said it was “in Scotland’s interests” for him to attend: “I don’t think people in Scotland would understand their first minister leaving Scotland’s seat empty, when there are big issues that affect the jobs and the livelihoods of people in Scotland.” He went on to repeat his position on Gaza and his opposition to Trump’s approach.
This feels to me like devolution politics for grown-ups, and a mark of the contrasting levels of political maturity between Scotland and Wales. Swinney believes, rightly in my view, that Scotland needs to be visible and present. He was recently in the White House, meeting the President and others to discuss Scottish whiskey exports. Wales equally has export issues in America – our largest single country market – and we’re crying out for investment in AI and tech industries.
No First Minister is going to promote Wales from behind a desk in Cardiff. Also at the dinner in Windsor were Open Ai’s Sam Altman, Apple boss Tim Cook and Nvidia’s Jensen Huang. These are among the most powerful businesspeople on the planet. Apple is the most profitable company in the history of business. Altman and Huang control the future of the AI industry which is about to transform life on Earth.
Just the other week the Welsh Government announced the establishment of a “Strategic AI Advisory Group”. At Windsor Castle you had – within reach of a First Minister’s handshake and the exchange of a business card – the world’s most powerful investors. No amount of money can buy you an introduction to these people. Only a First Minister can do this, and only when the rare chance presents itself.
A group
The Welsh Government sets up a group – there’s always a group – to convince itself it’s doing something about AI. Meanwhile, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, in Windsor, said the UK is well placed to become an “AI superpower”. Microsoft announced a £22bn investment for the UK, its biggest ever outside America – that’s the entire Welsh Government budget for a year. But who was in the room selling Wales? The north-east of England has been designated an “AI growth zone”, with potential for 5,000 jobs. Lucky them, and I wish them success. Wales, meanwhile?
The Welsh Government won’t criticise the UK Government when it damages Welsh interests, and yet is unwilling to walk through the door when it’s invited to meet influential investors. It could make you weep.
I get that the politics of Trump isn’t easy but the first priority for the Welsh Government is the prosperity and well-being of this nation. If that involves compromise, occasionally doing things you’d rather not do, sobeit. The activists may cheer to the rafters in the church hall on a Friday night for boycotting Trump, but does it honestly advance the national interest? The jobs not pitched for, the investment for Wrexham or Llanelli or Pontypool unsolicited?
Is it any wonder voters are looking elsewhere?
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Boycotting The orange genocidal clown is one of the few things she deserves applause for. I’m fed up of seeing Starmer and other leaders fawning over him-he’s a dangerous fool. Well done baroness Morgan
100%
100% agree.Go and cause trouble if you want, but be where nations are represented.
She didn’t fawn over a convicted felon and adjudicated rapist with a HUGE question mark over other assaults. Dont see the problem. Trump wouldn’t spend time with her or listen to her.
Oh yeah, the US investments yet to happen, unlikely to benefit the UK. By now people should know how trump operates.
I make that £4.4 million per job created if you take those numbers at face value.
Eluned has networked with Dublin – who plans to spend Euro 29 billion on rail upgrades in next 25 years – she gets my vote!
Pity she won’t be in the Senedd to see it after May.
Da iawn Eluned…feck the orange one!
If you hate what an individual stands for, in Trump’s case a hard right immigration policy, pardoning those that wanted to upend American democracy, a convicted felon, etc., why on earth would you go to a big bash – honouring that individual?? Yes, there may have been a slight chance of the First Minister meeting big business people and maybe getting a deal or two, but with such remote chances would it have been worth ditching your values for? Farage could well be a real threat to the future of Cymru in the future – how can you politically attack… Read more »
Could’ve sent the deputy.
A good argument if it was about not meeting with the Bushes, Ford or Regan because of political, difference, but Trump is a different case. He is a misogynist who hates female leaders, he would despise her for her attitude towards immigration, there is nothing that she could do that would have endeared her to the orange dictator, and by extension endeared Wales to him.
Perfectly acceptable for Baroness Morgan not to go. Trump is the antithesis of everything that Wales stands for. The risk of being labelled like Starmer a Trump sycophant, would have been much more dangerous than anything else and would anyone have actually listened to her there? No.
If Baroness Morgan were leading Plaid Cymru, I’d vote for her. It’s not Baroness Morgan that is making the Labour Party unelectable.
This is well argued. Morgan herself has said that she puts nation before party and her nation is Wales. She can talk the talk …
Desmond is correct. If Eluned didn’t fancy the gig she should have sent her Deputy or one of her Cabinet Secretaries. This was a missed opportunity on a global scale. Nature abhors a vacuum and it was indeed filled (sort of). As one radio commentator noted, “The Welsh First Minister has refused to come…but the Prince and Princess of Wales are in attendance”. We should all be eternally grateful that William and Kate were there to represent Cymru, because that is what the USA, and the rest of the watching world, thought.
Do you really and honestly believe that William and Kate had it in mind that they were representing Cymru? It was probably the furthest thing on their minds. They could not give a fig about Cymru. It’s just a title that offends true Cymry.
It is called irony Frank. But irony, in this instance, equals reality.
The point was clear Frank. By not sending any representative the Welsh Gov handed the task of representing Wales on the world stage back to Whitehall which happily left it to the prince. In effect they let Wales be a principality for the evening for party political reasons.
Exactly Bryce. Eluned Morgan handed the spotlight to the English Royals. Some people are comfortable with that but I am certainly not. I don’t want Cymru represented on the evening, or at any moment, by William and Kate Windsor (they feed off these events to embed their standing). There should have been a senior Welsh politician at that gathering to show the world that Cymru has a democratically elected Government. The SNP get that. John Swinney is a pragmatist and ten times the politician and diplomat that Morgan will ever be.
Casually putting party before nation reveals Welsh Labour’s branch office mentality.
If she was there, what do you think would have happened?
Trump looked around the table and thought “Dang, Wales are being shirty?” the bloke has trouble stringing sentence’s together and knowing what day it is.
Trump didn’t notice partly because Eluned is a political non-entity. Although he did have a pop at Sadiiq Kahn being absent. As it happens both are commoners and would not normally be invited.
Sadiiq is an interesting one, trump hates him because he is not white and not Christian, often referred to as being racist though I understand that Mr Kahn had refused and trump didn’t want him there.
Trump is a bully. You don’t do deals with him, you roll over. So we were not in the same room as that sex offender. Not really an issue.
I didn’t say she had to go. Only that a representative needed to be there.
Why. Trump is ripping into President Biden today after Biden’s cancer is revealed to be a lot worse, trump is mocking him.
Trump is sending the DOJ after political enemies.
A rep would go under the radar as much as Morgan.
But don’t worry, if farage gets in then trump will know about Wales as he asset strips the nation.
Mind you, could have sent ARTD, he would go to a state visit for Amin just to wear a tuxedo a try to get on camera.
Because it’s a state event for the American president not Donald’s birthday party. Sending no-one meant Willy was representing Wales, as a principality of England.
Much of a muchness. But If she had gone, I guarantee a Sunday article on this website on ‘why first minister shouldn’t have gone’, and inviting plenty of criticism from plaid etc. It was a lose lose decision.
I think the far bigger concern is how virtually no mainstream media outlet noticed the first minister of Wales was missing!
Eluned Morgan should have attended, it’s part of her job. I don’t know whether there would have been much opportunity to do her job promoting and securing the interests of Cymru but certainly more than not going at all. If our first minister didn’t want her attendance to be seen as endorsing Trump and his policies then she could have attended but declined to eat or drink anything put in front of her. She could even have got a win win out of the situation. As it is she got a lose lose, didn’t do her job and didn’t have… Read more »
I don’t think John Swinney was there, “… to discuss Scottish whiskey exports.” 😉
Like the overwhelming majority of things the Welsh government say or do, it probably doesn’t matter either way.
Last week there was an article on black hole in council funding, one on a university loosing 100 plus jobs, and one on a health board failing. Three main devolved responsibilities.
This article attracted more comments than those three articles combined! Sometimes you get the government you deserve! And perhaps a reason the left should address to limit the rise of reform
Most realise that the root cause of the three problems you highlight is in SW1. Councils hit by cost of Cons crisis (going bankrupt in England), universities losing lucrative international students and a health board creaking under too many economic migrant retirees without appropriate central government funding.
It’s devolved, WG owns the problem.
But my point is how people care more where Eluned morgan eats on a wednesday night than they do on councils, education and health. Especially those people on this forum!
Quite so. It’s very easy to blame Westminster (with some justification); but I can categorically say that most people care far more about the devolved issues you list. After 26 years it’s why support for the Senedd may be slipping and why Farage and co are on the rise.
How does reversing devolution help? Six councils run from Whitehall have actually gone bankrupt so reinstating imperial rule isn’t going to help.
Look at yourself, mun. ‘Imperial rule’! What a load of codswallop
Imagine a colonial administrator from 1900 resurrected and taken on a tour of the Westminster estate followed by a state banquet. Would it not seem very familiar? Whitehall was set up to run an empire. All that’s changed is the colonies have shrunk and what’s left rebranded as the UK. But their MO hasn’t changed – Whitehall mandarins believe their job is to extract the wealth and opportunity, and hoard it in London. We know that because all the regions and nations (aka the home colonies) are massively underperforming because their wealth and opportunities are hoarded in London. The numbers… Read more »
A strange whataboutary by Desmond. The reason why Swinney attended is that the host was King Charles of England who also wears another crown, that of King of Scotland. Swinney is his ‘trusted servant’ in constitutional terms. Wales has no crown. Charles presides in Wales by proxy, so for Eluned Morgan (or Kahn of London) to attend would be bizarre, both are ‘commoners’ at a state banquet. Might just as well have sent Dai the salmon from Llanbedr. It’s how we stand in the ‘United Kingdom’.
The monarch has no power to compel his attendance. We learnt how powerless the monarch was when she failed to send her lying PM to The Tower.
Hope she declined the invite.
Second paragraph:
“First Minister Eluned Morgan declined her invitation to attend”
Just woken up?
‘If her position is that she genuinely couldn’t go for the reason she stated, but that she would have gone if she could, then she should say so. If her position is that she would not have gone in any case because of her strong policy differences with President Trump on Gaza and other issues, then she should make that clear too.’ A fair enough point in principle, but nonetheless I don’t think we’re justified in making too much of Morgan’s decision not to take up her invitation. I heard Ed Davey on the radio, responding to criticism of his… Read more »
Sycophancy to a thin-skinned malignant narcissist is not Starmer being “quite good at foreign affairs“.
It makes the Untied Kingdom look weak and pusillanimous.