“I don’t know what the details are yet, but I will go,” the president had confirmed on Friday, after Buckingham Palace announced the monarch’s death at Balmoral, her longtime home in Scotland. The funeral, expected to take place around September 19 at the same church where the Queen was crowned in 1953, will attract presidents, prime ministers and leaders from around the world. But Mr Biden’s trip has been dogged by speculation about whether the president will ask his predecessor to join the group of leaders who will pay tribute to the Queen. While remembering her for her “loyalty” to her country, Mr Trump offered his condolences on the death of the longest-serving monarch. However, he has not commented on whether he will attend the funeral in London. During a discussion on CNN, anchor Jake Tapper said that “it will be up to President Biden whether or not to bring in others [former] Presidents with him at the Queen’s funeral,” he added, adding that it would be a “smart move” to invite him. “I mean the UK has made it very clear that it depends on the president. He is invited. It can bring any delegation. So obviously [Barack] obama, [Jimmy] Carter, [George] Bush, not brains,” he said, referring to the cordial relations Biden shares with former presidents. “What about Trump? Will he call Trump?’ Tapper asked. “I’ve been told by two diplomatic officials that it appears that Buckingham Palace is being left to each individual country,” responded Jeff Zeleny, CNN’s chief national affairs correspondent. “In this case, it would be easy if Trump wasn’t in the picture,” he said, noting that Obama had attended Nelson Mandela’s funeral in 2013 with his two immediate predecessors, Bush and Bill Clinton. Donald Trump and Queen Elizabeth II inspect a Guard of Honor in 2018. Mr Trump claims he spoke to the Queen ‘all night’ after meeting her in 2019 (Richard Pohle – WPA Pool/Getty Images) The former president and current head of state are currently locked in a war of words ahead of the November midterms. Mr Biden has sharpened his attacks on Mr Trump and Republicans as a threat to democracy and likened the philosophy underpinning the modern Democratic Party to “semi-fascism”. “Who knows, it may be in the spirit of forgiveness and giving, President Biden will invite Donald Trump on Air Force One,” Zeleny said on the show. “I doubt that will happen, but I expect some type of bipartisan delegation,” he said, adding that the White House would not say anything about it until Buckingham Palace made arrangements for the funeral. “I think the smart move is to invite him,” she yelled at Tapper. “And see if it will go. I don’t think President Trump, former President Trump, would want to be subordinate to Air Force I. And I think he probably prefers his own plane anyway.” Trump earlier spoke to far-right former politician and British broadcaster Nigel Farage, where he recalled talking to the Queen “all night” when he met her in 2019. “We had good chemistry. And then, as you remember that night, there was a big party and I sat next to the Queen, and we just talked all night. She was incredible. She was incredible to talk to and so sharp. Her mind was so sharp and being with her was something very special,” he said. Meanwhile, Fox News host Jesse Watters was lambasted for repeating the former president’s claim that the Queen has “never had a better time” than when she met Mr Trump. “His immense despair [Jesse Watters] it’s fascinating,” tweeted historian Brooks Simpson. “Trump was a classless gum,” added actress Heather Thomas.
