President said ‘fake news’ misreported and that he was 15 minutes early despite images of the monarch standing alone, waiting

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Many enduring images came from Donald Trump’s visit to the UK last month. There was the huge blimp baby, the streets full of protesters, Trump’s views on Brexit – and the footage of the Queen appearing to check her watch as she waited for the US president to arrive.

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The image of the Queen standing alone on a stage as she waited to be presented to Trump captured the imagination of many. Reports emerged that Trump had turned up late, enhancing the the notion that his was a gaffe-filled visit.

But everyone was wrong, Trump claimed at a rally in Pennsylvania on Thursday night. He was actually early, and the “fake news” is to blame.

Trump said: “I was asked to have tea with the Queen, who is incredible, by the way. Incredible. I landed, [and] I’m on the ground, and I’m waiting with the King’s and the Queen’s Guards, wonderful people. I’m waiting.

“I was about 15 minutes early and I’m waiting with my wife and that’s fine. Hey, it’s the Queen, right? We can wait. But I’m a little early.”

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And his account was backed up on Friday by Valentine Low of the Times, who attended the event at Windsor Castle. “The shock is that he is right,” tweeted Low. “He didn’t keep the Queen waiting. In fact, he was early, and had to wait before going up to Windsor Castle.”

On Thursday, Trump, who, according to the Washington Post, has made 4,229 false or misleading claims, told the rally that after waiting he and the first lady, Melania Trump, enjoyed tea with the Queen, who he described as “fantastic”.

“We got along fantastically well, and the time went by,” Trump said. “You know, sometimes if you like somebody you get along – good chemistry – the time goes by. So we were there for about an hour.

“So here was the story by the fake news: the president was 15 minutes late for the Queen. Wrong.”

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Trump was appearing at a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, nominally to support a Republican candidate for the US Senate. But instead he launched into a sustained attack on the free press – or the “fake, fake, disgusting news” – which looped in his meetings with the Queen, the leaders of Nato, the North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un and the Russian president Vladimir Putin.

As well as using the rally to correct the record of his encounter with the Queen, Trump also treated his audience to a reverie on the history of the UK.

“I have great respect for the UK – United Kingdom – great respect,” Trump said.

“People call it Britain. They call it Great Britain. They used to call it England – different parts.”