Dimitris Kouimtsidis
DONALD Trump has invited the Spanish Royal family to the United States for a state visit in April.
King Felipe and Queen Letizia are due to visit the US President on April 21, as announced by the White House and the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
This will be the second time that the Royals will visit the ‘leader of the free world’, in less than two years and the third time during Felipe’s reign, as he also visited the US in 2015 when Obama was in office.
Spanish President Pedro Sanchez on the other hand has never made a visit to Washington DC.
The Spanish monarchy is considered an exotic institution for much of American society, which contemplates it with curiosity and fascination, similar to the way they feel about the UK monarchy.
The trip marks a certain change of attitude from the Trump administration towards Spain.
The American leader began by criticising the Spanish government for its modest military spending, one of the lowest within NATO, but recently has thanked it for its cooperation in defence and security.
This change in attitude is even more evident with the Pentagon’s interest in increasing its presence at the Rota naval base in Cadiz.
This visit is due to take place roughly seven months before the US Presidential election in November, in which the Hispanic vote may play a decisive role.
