By Andrew Marr

The images from Donald Trump’s State visit have so far been all the highly predictable ones – the big green whirlybirds, the well-behaved horses and golden carriages, the soldiers dressed as if it were 1890.

He loves us, or at least our castles: can’t we begin to love him back?

But we need to lift aside the pomp and circumstance to ask some hard and uncomfortable questions. What’s really going on here? Isn’t this the political decoration to disguise a massive reverse takeover of British democracy? Isn’t all the fawning and ceremonial merely tributes to America from a vassal state?

Today we are faced by not just an unusually assertive US president who uses tariffs to interfere deeply in other countries’ politics, but also awesome American technology, reshaping Britain outside our control.

The true giants of the modern world are not Starmer or even Trump himself but the big tech bros, from Elon Musk calling for the overthrow of the government last weekend, through to Peter Thiel, whose Palantir data company is deep into the NHS; while Anduril, which he cofounded, digs into the British military establishment.

Larry Ellison‘s Oracle now underpins four major British government departments’ work. Sam Altman’s ChatGPT has become an essential tool in Whitehall. Even as Musk tries to divide us and whip up hatred, ministers still use his X platform to communicate with voters.

Now, you might reply that from defence to data centres, from AI to social media, Britain needs American help. For sure. But is the price fair? Even if it includes getting rid of the digital services tax, allowing free access to data, and regulating the horrors of the internet less effectively? What about the British tech companies being elbowed out by much bigger American rivals?

What about the social media campaigns, driven by AI and American algorithms, which shred the reputations of British politicians – today Keir Starmer but tomorrow, whoever replaces him? British politicians, of all the main parties, I think, understand this but are frankly too cowardly and too nervous to say anything. America is a powerful ally, but it’s not necessarily a disinterested friend.

So, the question needs to be asked during this presidential visit: Is our ancient democracy becoming a wholly owned subsidiary of Trump’s America?

There’s a lot of talk these days about the British Empire – what we did, what we didn’t do, should we be proud, was it evil? But as this state visit showcases the last gilded remnants of imperial grandeur, aren’t we – let’s be honest – more like local islanders grinningly displaying our native customs and humbling ourselves for the latest stuff from the latest Empire? It’s not quite beads and shells for muskets and a pair of trousers; but it is the 2025 equivalent.