Biden's coronation no-show is no snub – more telling is whom he sends to King Charles' big day
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Friday, April 28, 2023
American Expeditionary Forces, General officer, 1948 Republican Party presidential primaries, Second VA-66 (U.S. Navy), Nazi Germany, Marshall Plan, Politics, Hugh Rodman, World War I, Woman, Plan, Pershing, Omar Bradley, History, G.I, Republican Party, Bradley, World War II, The New York Times, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Logic, Supreme court, Law of the United Kingdom, Family, Female, Entertainment, Nursing, United States Army, American, Flair, Atlantic Ocean
A “royal snub,” screamed headlines, while commentators grumbled about “Irish Joe” and his “hatred” of the Brits.
Key Points:
- A “royal snub,” screamed headlines, while commentators grumbled about “Irish Joe” and his “hatred” of the Brits.
- The truth is, no U.S. president has ever attended a British coronation ceremony.
- Biden did attend Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in September 2022, but that was very much the exception, not the rule.
- What’s more, she will be joined by an American coronation delegation.
- But if history is a guide, who is sent across the Atlantic will telegraph particular American ideas and aspirations.
Signaling intent
- That party was headed by General John J. Pershing, commander of the American Expeditionary Forces during World War I, and included James Gerard, former U.S.
- Ambassador to Germany, and Admiral Hugh Rodman, a former commander-in-chief in the U.S. Navy.
- Gerard had reviewed Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” for The New York Times in 1933, in which he expressed his “fear for the world’s future.” In dispatching both to the coronation, Roosevelt was signaling where he stood on Nazi Germany.
Elevating women
- In this postwar moment – marked by escalating tensions with the Soviet Union and the accompanying Red Scare at home – Eisenhower chose his four representatives carefully.
- Marshall, who headed the delegation, had been U.S. Army chief of staff during World War II.
- More recently, as secretary of state, he had helped implement the Marshall Plan, which provided crucial funding to postwar Europe.
- Bradley, likewise, had played a decisive role in the war, and now served as chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.
- In choosing Cowles, Eisenhower played into this female narrative, while also signaling his own, sometimes contradictory, aspirations for the modern American woman.
Pinned down on US positions
- Once the delegation arrived in London, its role as a diplomatic corps became only more evident.
- More informally, the delegation fielded frequent questions from the press about controversial issues and did its best to remain in lockstep with the president.
- The choices, whenever they’re announced, will tell us much about how President Biden wants to position himself ahead of his 2024 presidential bid.