Rod Stewart congratulates Charles III for jabbing at Trump

The comments were made during a reception at the Royal Albert Hall concert hall in London, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the King (King’s Trust), on Monday night (11).

“Allow me to say, congratulations on what you did in the Americas. You were superb. Absolutely superb. You put that scoundrel in his place”, he said, using the term “ratbag” – literally, “bag of rats”, an expression in English that can be translated as “scoundrel” or “despicable guy”. The White House has not yet commented on the comment.

During his visit to Washington at the end of April, Charles III needled Trump during an official dinner. “You recently commented, Mr. President, that if it weren’t for the United States, European countries would be speaking German,” said the king, in reference to the American role in the Second World War.

“I dare say that, if it weren’t for us, you would be speaking French!”, joked the monarch. In a speech to the American Congress, the king defended NATO, criticized by Trump because other members of the alliance did not help the US in the war against Iran.

In this Monday’s video released by the British press, Charles III, who appears from behind, appears to laugh at Stewart’s comment and then says something, inaudible due to the low volume of the recording.

In response to the king, the singer states: “Exactly, it went completely unnoticed by him, completely unnoticed” – apparently stating that Trump would not have understood the monarch’s irony.

According to information from the website Politico, Stewart and Trump were once friends, but in an interview in 2025 the British singer said he had broken up with the American president.

“I knew him very, very well. I used to go to his house. I live less than a mile away (from the resort where Trump lives in Florida). We both lived on the beach. I used to go to his Christmas parties. He was always a bit of a macho guy. I liked him for that. But in my opinion, he didn’t treat women very well. And since he became president, he’s transformed into someone else. Someone I don’t recognize,” the singer said at the time.