President Donald Trump’s state visit to the United Kingdom generated a stream of good visuals and helpful headlines — and few gaffes.

Aside from a controversy over Trump’s attempt to minimize the number of protesters, who turned out in lower numbers than expected, there were few negative stories to feed the appetite for criticism in the mainstream media. CNN had to delve into the tabloids of the early 1980s to find a story that reflected poorly on Trump’s trip.

The story, published Wednesday by CNN research guru Andrew Kaczynski, was that Trump had been suspected of hyping the interest of the British royal family in his properties, dating back to 1981 and through the mid-1990s.

The pattern, according to CNN, was that New York tabloids would publish rumors that Princess Diana or some other member of the royal clan was interested in buying an apartment from Trump. That created positive articles, and investor interest — even if the stories were unconfirmed. Trump was suspected, though not proven, to be the sources.

CNN’s goal appears to have been to undermine President Trump’s friendly reception by Queen Elizabeth and the royal family by suggesting that he had explotied them. Kaczynski reported that “the royal family has for years batted back stories that its members were looking into or joining Trump’s properties.”

If so, they did not seem unhappy about it.

Separately on Wednesday, a CNN poll found that a majority (54%) of Americans expect President Trump to be re-elected — a reversal from December, when a majority (51%) expected him to lose his bid to return after 2020.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. He is also the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.