Sawt Falasteen - UK gears to welcome Trump for landmark second state visit

As wars still rage in Ukraine and the Middle East, and major economies grapple with US tariffs, Britain is hoping to woo the mercurial Trump, treating him to a huge show of pomp and pageantry.

But controversies over sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and free-speech culture wars could make for some awkward moments when Trump sits down with Britain's embattled Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

Trump was due to arrive Tuesday evening and then head to the historic Windsor Castle on Wednesday, for a full day of lavish events.

The 79-year-old Republican has long been fascinated with the royal family and will be honoured with a carriage procession with King Charles III as well as a grand state banquet at Windsor.

The setting means he will be far away from crowds and protesters, with his schedule due to avoid London where a large anti-Trump demonstration has been called on Wednesday.

Labour leader Starmer is not a natural bedfellow for right-wing firebrand Trump, but has worked to win him over since his return to the White House in January.

The visit is "a huge moment for both" men, said Evie Aspinall, director of the British Foreign Policy Group think-tank.

"For Trump, the state visit is an opportunity to revel in the pomp and ceremony he loves," she told AFP.

"For Starmer, the visit is a chance to distract from domestic discontent and shift the limelight onto international issues where he has had greater success."

- US investments -

Security is being ramped up. Thames Valley Police said it has deployed its marine unit around Windsor as "part of a wide range of security measures in place, many of which will be visible to the public and others which will not".

Downing Street has said Trump's visit would see the "unbreakable friendship" between the countries "reach new heights".

The two nations are set to sign a raft of agreements worth £10 billion ($13.6 billion), including one to speed up new nuclear projects as well as what British officials called "a world-leading tech partnership".

Ahead of the trip, Google said it would invest £5 billion in the UK in the next two years while US finance firms including PayPal and Citi Group announced they would spend £1.25 billion.

Trump, whose mother was Scottish, will become the first US president to get a second state visit, after his previous one in 2019 when he met Queen Elizabeth II.

After Windor's pomp, politics will dominate on Thursday when Starmer hosts Trump at his country retreat Chequers, seeking to capitalise on Britain being one of the first countries to secure a US trade deal.

- Epstein scandal -

Ukraine will also be a key topic. Starmer is one of a host of European leaders who have pushed Trump to keep backing Kyiv despite signs of him leaning toward Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that Trump will likely meet with Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky next week and still hopes to broker a peace deal between Kyiv and Moscow.

First Lady Melania Trump, who is making a rare public appearance, has a separate itinerary on Thursday.

She is due to take part in an event with Queen Camilla, who is recovering from a bout of acute sinusitis which forced her to pull out attending the Duchess of Kent's funeral on Tuesday.

Despite the pomp, tensions will be lurking in the background.

The White House said Trump would discuss "how important it is for the prime minister to protect free speech in the UK" -- a topic raised by Trump's former ally Elon Musk in a speech to a far-right rally in Britain over the weekend.

Starmer's spokesman on Monday called Musk's language "dangerous and inflammatory".

Starmer desperately needs the visit to go well following a miserable few days in which some of his own Labour party members have openly questioned whether he can remain as leader.

He has been dogged by questions over his judgement for appointing the now-sacked Peter Mandelson as ambassador to Washington despite his known friendship with Epstein.

But Rubio, on a visit to Israel, said Mandelson's sacking "won't change the nature of the visit".

"It's a big honour and they're an important ally and partner," Rubio said.

Trump is facing awkward scrutiny himself over his own links to the convicted sex offender.

Activists on Monday unveiled a huge portrait of Trump and Epstein on a large patch of grass outside Windsor Castle.

M.AlAhmad--SF-PST