The Tribune

IT was a throw-away line, but in the fashion of such comments from US President Donald Trump, it has generated plenty of discussion.

A report appeared suggesting that King Charles would offer the US the chance to join the Commonwealth. Mr Trump responded on social media to say “I love King Charles” and said of the supposed offer of “associate membership” that it “sounds good to me!”

But beyond that, while there has been plenty to speculate about, there is little of fact to be seen.

Quite what associated membership would be has not been defined, though we can be certain the US is not about to become a Commonwealth realm and reinstall the king as the head of state.

The news that Mr Trump loves King Charles is interesting too, given their substantial differences of opinion on the environment.

Mr Trump has been invited to the UK for a state visit – the second he would have had as president having previously visited in his first term in office.

There has, of course, been the capacity to expand the Commonwealth – as recently as 2022, Gabon and Togo joined.

What would it mean for the US or for the Commonwealth were the US to join? It is far too soon to even begin to discuss that idea – it would significantly depend on what the nature of the membership would be.

But it might also signal moves from the UK to try to ease the tensions that have broken out between the Trump administration and the Canadian government. As Canada is a significant part of the Commonwealth, this might be a way of trying to mend the rift that has been opening diplomatically.

Trump has talked about Canada becoming the 51st state of the US, while putting Canada on the list of nations he is wielding tariffs against.

So is there some substance to all of this? Or is it a distraction from some of the many other topics on the table right now?

Boris Johnson, the former Prime Minister of Britain, memorably talked of how when you are in a losing argument, you throw a dead cat on the table. Suddenly, everyone is talking about the dead cat rather than the previous debate.

Is the Commonwealth suggestion such a dead cat?

Notably, there has been no comment from the UK side of things. But then, if it were genuine, you might not expect any such comment. If the offer came from the king, it would be inappropriate for anyone else to discuss the king’s correspondence.

It will certainly prick up the ears of members of the Commonwealth around the globe, including here in The Bahamas.

Whether there is substance to the matter or not, it certainly shows that we are living in interesting times indeed.