“We are like two notes in one chord,” declared Donald Trump. “Or two verses of the same poem.” A president known for his demotic speech was in an uncharacteristically lyrical mood. He was addressing a banquet, hosted by King Charles III at Windsor Castle, to mark his state visit to Britain on September 17th. The relationship between Britain and America was eternal, irreplaceable and unbreakable, he said. “Seen from American eyes,” the president added, “the word ‘special’ does not begin to do it justice.” A week earlier Peter Mandelson, Britain’s ambassador to Washington, DC, had been fired over his toe-curling links to Jeffrey Epstein, a notorious sex-offender. Even that could not spoil the party.