The government has abandoned the idea of Donald Trump addressing the joint Houses of Parliament when he comes to Britain for a state visit later this year after objections by MPs led by the Commons Speaker John Bercow.
The US president’s controversial visit is now expected to run from a Thursday to a Sunday in late summer or early autumn, with officials trying to ensure that Trump is not in London at a time when parliament is sitting, in order to avoid a formal snub.
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Officials are also said to be keen to limit the president’s public exposure more generally during the visit, in order to reduce the opportunities for protests and disorder on a state occasion. Hundreds of thousands of protesters could be expected in any large city, causing major headaches for the emergency and security services. This suggests that the president will spend relatively little time in London, while the majority of the visit will be conducted behind as strict a security cordon as possible.
Also troubling the Brits is the pickle May has created for Queen Elizabeth, pressuring her to meet with Mr. Trump. Word is the Queen feels she is in a “very difficult position”, but under the rules of protocol might be forced to do so.
May had invited Trump to come to the UK for a State Visit during her visit to the US. May, who has been trying to guide Britain’s Brexit planning for withdrawal from the EU, is seen as a close ally of Trump, both politically and because Trump appears to have held out the prospect of a tailored trade agreement with the country that could (at least in the eyes of Trump advisor Steve Bannon) help ease Britain’s blowback from the withdrawal, and possibly lure other European countries to abandon the EU in favor of their own “special deals.” Opponents have warned that such “go it alone” approaches would deal a major blow to the EU, to European stability and to key alliances like NATO.
Trump’s attempt at an immigration ban has caused significant damage to his image in England (and the rest of the world) and the British political community is clearly worried about the prospect of major demonstrations if and when he shows up.
In this climate, pending major elections in countries like France, Germany and Italy assume even greater importance as Russia appears to be doing all it can to sow seeds of division within EU countries and promote their favorite right-wing candidates and platforms. Security analysts in France are already warning that Russia is clearly trying to use the same tactics it used in the US to influence our Presidential elections, to knee-cap opponents to their favored French candidate Marine Le Pen, head of the nationalist right-wing faction of French politics.
Given Trump’s ego, making the trip to Great Britain, only to be cloistered away from crowds and public attention, and denied the right to address Parliament, would be another blow to his clearly weak self-esteem. And by late summer, who knows where his ego will be standing. However, based on his public speaking record so far, the British barring Lord Dampnut from addressing the country could be one of the greatest gifts he has received yet.