It was an uncomfortable spectacle for an American president — thousands of protesters greeting his arrival in London for a state visit with the queen.
For President George W. Bush, the moment called for a direct response.
“The last noted American to visit London stayed in a glass box dangling over the Thames,” Bush said at Whitehall Palace in November 2003, referring to a recent stunt by illusionist David Blaine. “A few might have been happy to provide similar arrangements for me.”