So much for the Spirit of ’76. As America nears the 250th anniversary of its Declaration of Independence from Britain, President Trump is mooting the idea of renewed bonds with the mother country. Amid reports that Charles III is weighing an offer of “associate membership” in the British Commonwealth of Nations, Mr. Trump signals that he would be amenable. “I Love King Charles,” Washington’s successor says. “Sounds good to me!”

It’s hard to imagine that idea going over well with the Founders and the generation that fought the Revolution to achieve American autonomy from the British crown. America, indeed, has traditionally kept its distance from the Commonwealth, a kind of watered-down version of the globe-spanning Empire that London once ruled and on which the sun — so to speak — never set. At least until recently. So why would America change course now?