Some have interpreted the musician’s comment to be a reference to President Donald Trump.

Rod Stewart praises King Charles for putting ‘that little rat bag in his place’ during U.S. visit

Some have interpreted the musician's comment to be a reference to President Donald Trump.

By Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis

Emlyn Travis is a news writer at **. She has been working at EW since 2022. Her work has previously appeared on MTV News, Teen Vogue, and NME.

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May 12, 2026 11:32 a.m. ET

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Rod Stewart at the Sun’s Who Cares Wins Awards in 2021; Prince Charles at the Sandringham House in England in 2025. Credit:

Samir Hussein/WireImage; Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty

- At a recent charity event, Rod Stewart praised King Charles for his "superb" U.S. visit.

- "You put that little rat bag in his place," Stewart told the royal on the red carpet.

- Some have suggested that "little rat bag" refers to Donald Trump.

It’s safe to say that Rod Stewart was a big fan of the way King Charles navigated his recent visit to the United States.

The singer congratulated the royal on his trip abroad when they met on the red carpet of The King’s Trust’s 50th Anniversary Celebration at Royal Albert Hall in London on Monday.

“May I say, well done in the Americas,” Stewart said in video footage posted on social media by the* Daily Mail*’s Rebecca English. “You were superb. Absolutely superb. You put that little rat bag in his place.”

Prince Charles and President Donald Trump at the White House on April 28.

Anna Moneymaker/Getty

Charles did not have a visible reaction to the comment, which many have interpreted as a reference to Donald Trump, but others could be seen laughing nearby.

Stewart and Trump have history. Last year, the rocker told the *Radio Times** *that he and his fellow Florida neighbor used to be close, but that their bond has soured since he became president.

“He’s always been a bit of a man’s man. I liked him for that,” the musician said at the time. “But he didn’t, as far as I’m concerned, treat women very well. But since he became president, he became another guy. Somebody I didn’t know.”

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Stewart added that he can no longer consider Trump a friend due to his administration’s continued arms sales to Israel, adding, “How’s that war ever gonna stop?”

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In January, Stewart called upon U.K. politicians to make “the draft dodger Trump apologize” after the president claimed that NATO allies stayed away from the front lines in Afghanistan.

“I was born just after the war, and have great respect for our armed forces that fought and gave us our freedom,” Stewart said in an Instagram video. “So it hurts me badly, deeply, when I read that the draft dodger Trump has criticized our troops in Afghanistan for not being on the front line.”

He continued, “We lost over 400 of our guys — think of their parents. Think about it! And Trump calls them almost like cowards. It’s unbearable. So I’m calling on you, Prime Minister [Keir] Starmer, and [Nigel] Farage, please make the draft dodger Trump apologize. Please.”

Rod Stewart at the 2025 American Music Awards.

David Becker/Getty

During his U.S. trip, Charles held a joint meeting of Congress on April 28, during which he acknowledged that we live in “more volatile and more dangerous” times than when his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth, visited in 1991. His arrival not only coincided with the ongoing Iran war, but was also just days after the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

"The challenges we face are too great for any one nation to bear alone," he said. "But in this unpredictable environment, our alliance cannot rest on past achievements, or assume that foundational principles simply endure.”

He continued, “As my prime minister said last month, 'Ours is an indispensable partnership. We must not disregard everything that has sustained us for the last 80 years. Instead, we must build on it.'"

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