A PHOTOGRAPH of British businessman and Camelot Castle owner, John Mappin, together with US President Donald Trump and The First Lady Melania, documents their recent meeting.
John made headlines in the lead-up to the US election last year when he and his Russian wife, Irina, won over £110,000 after betting that Donald Trump would win the presidency.
The international news buzz about his wager, combined with John’s vocal support for President Trump on social media, ultimately caught the eye of the President, his family and the administration.
After the election, John was delighted to receive a phone call from President Trump’s son, Eric, who was well aware of, and thankful for, all of John and Irina’s efforts to support his father during the campaign. He then extended an invitation to John to meet the Trump family, an opportunity which was realised at the recent RNC Republican fundraiser at The Presidential Ballroom at The Old Post Office, Washington DC, hosted by American real estate businessman and art collector, Steve Wynn.
John said: “When the President’s son, Eric, called me shortly after the President’s election victory, he thanked me over the phone for our extensive support of his father and suggested that when I was next in New York, or if he was in the UK, that it would be good for us to meet up.”
“I have now met with President Trump and The First Lady in Washington DC and it was a wonderful opportunity to see for myself who the President truly is. Naturally one gets a very different impression of someone as a result of meeting them and a much more accurate perception of a person than one can get via any media or other second-hand indirect reports or observations.
“The truth is that the President is a very kind human being. Both the President and the First Lady are wonderful people with very noble and positive intentions towards the American people and indeed towards all the people of the world.”
He added: “The First Lady Melania is completely charming, she has an ethereal grace, and a calm, highly intelligent steadiness to her. The President is good fun and has a great sense of humour and was delighted with the fact that we had backed him to win the election.”
Their meeting occurred quite naturally.
John said: “Whilst I was visiting friends in America recently and doing business there, I was invited to meet the President at the fundraiser. Before the dinner commenced, I was honoured to have been invited into a separate private room to be personally introduced to the President and First Lady.
“Surrounded by his immediate advisors and entourage and several Secret Service agents, The President and the First Lady were very warm and most welcoming, and were quite delighted by our support.
The President held up one of the news articles he had read about us, and our win and our support for his Presidency and said: ‘This is fantastic. This guy has made a lot of money backing me’. To which I responded to the President: ‘Mr President, Sir, when you back a winner, you win’.”
A sentiment that was certainly reflective of the evening which hosted the biggest republican donors in the USA and which raised over $10-million for the 2020 campaign — a fundraising record for the Republican Party.
John continued: “The President spoke positively and optimistically about the future of America. It is clear that the improvements that he is creating across the whole world, and particularly in the USA, will cause one of the greatest rebirths of the US economy and culture to occur in its history.
“The President went over the steps that he would be taking to make America safe and the actions that he is taking to rejuvenate the energy sector, so that the USA will soon become a net exporter of energy.
“The insights that he shared that night were more personal and direct than when he is under the usual media glare. The President was on pristine form and everyone in attendance was captivated. It was a truly powerful evening.”
After coming face-to-face with the President, John remained in Washington and also met several other key members of the Trump White House team at the very top of the current administration and those who are helping with the 2020 re-election campaign. He has also been asked, as result of other recent meetings in DC, to take an interest and advise on several other pressing geopolitical situations.
John has now invited President Trump and the First Lady to stay with him and Irina at Camelot Castle in Tintagel when the President makes his first state visit to the UK.
John said: “Along with a great legacy of freedom, Cornwall is one of the friendliest and most beautiful counties to visit in the British Isles, and is home to some of the great independent thinkers of the world. We thought that the President and First Lady might like to experience the friendliness of our county and visit the birthplace of King Arthur at Camelot Castle and see King Arthur’s Round Table.
“After all, the Round Table at Camelot Castle was created with the express purpose of unifying these islands during the dark ages as civil war raged between the then pagan groups and the more newly imported Christian groups from Rome. The Round Table at Camelot was conceived to bring all people together. We say at Camelot that ‘The table is round for a reason’. It’s time to unify.
“Unity and working together, the concept of exchanging brilliant ideas, is exactly what the President is beginning to achieve in the USA and it’s what he is passionate about. We cannot think of a more fitting place for him to visit than Camelot Castle when he visits the UK next year.
“It would be our great honour to reciprocate the friendliness with which we have been received by the President and the First Lady and his family and team in Washington DC.”