When news of Queen Elizabeth II's passing came, British leaders, world leaders, former world leaders, academics, business leaders, and even rock stars poured forth their condolences.

Some were better than others, many were gracious and heartfelt, a few were downright vile, and most did the best they could.

That included Joe Biden and former president Trump, both of whom sent forward condolence messages — Trump swiftly, Joe bringing up the rear.

President Trump honors Queen Elizabeth's" "remarkable reign" that "left a tremendous legacy of peace and prosperity for Great Britain." pic.twitter.com/tpCzyxa4Fn

— Mollie (@MZHemingway) September 8, 2022

Our statement on the death of Queen Elizabeth II. pic.twitter.com/0n7pmVVg2w

— President Biden (@POTUS) September 8, 2022

Let's just say one of these messages is better than the other.

Trump's is short and immediate and focuses on Queen Elizabeth as a person.  It opens directly, acknowledging that this was a death, it's an occasion of loss and sadness, and Trump's purpose was to send condolences.  It then goes into what she did, who she was, why she mattered, and what made her great.  It included a short passage on Trump's cherished meeting with the queen (which, based on news photos, showed that it was obvious that the two of them enjoyed each other's company) and then reaches out to the people of Britain and others grieving her loss to give them condolences, too.

It was short, focused on the queen as a person, and heartfelt.

Biden's, by contrast, or whoever wrote Biden's, pretty well laid out a Wikipedia page of events that happened to the queen, with meaningless platitudes like "she defined an era" and "in a world of constant change."  Gack.  When Biden mentioned what the queen loved, it was the "Commonwealth" that Biden claimed the queen loved — Great Britain didn't merit a mention.  He described her as a person of dignity and constancy and, like Trump, brought up his personal experience with her about three quarters of the way down the windy statement.  Instead of a statement of God's favor, as Trump had sought to comfort the British people with, he offered "thoughts and prayers," which is another banality. 

Perhaps he meant well.  But his statement was pretty soulless, impersonal, detached, passive, and trite.  Whose message read better?  I think the answer is pretty clear on that one.

Image: Screen shot from HM The King video, via YouTube.