England Blocks Trump Visit
President Trump’s upcoming trip to England appears to have been put on hold.
On Wednesday, November 29, President Donald Trump was banned from any official visit to London due to his retweeting of anti-Muslim videos on the social media platform Twitter, according to London mayor Sadiq Khan.
This report comes on the coattails of what has been a turbulent presidency for Trump, whose conservative and far-right views have received a plethora of backlash from outspoken opposition.
According to the New York Times, the videos were from a far-right British group known as Britain First. The videos depicted people dressed as Muslims assaulting others and destroying Christian idols.
However, in contrast, British PM Theresa May has been extending an official offer for a state-visit to President Trump, although no date has been set upon. Thousands of British have spoken out against this idea, Mayor Khan included, and plan to protest if Trump’s visit is not canceled. In addition to this, an online petition on Parliament’s official website calling for Trump to be banned outright from the UK has reached nearly two million signatures.
Anti-Trump sentiment is strong on this campus as well, with many students not happy with the way the president has been doing his job.
“What President Trump has done is completely unacceptable,” senior Abood Abuissa said. “He continues to disrespect the people of the Middle East and he should be dealt with appropriately.”
Abood and others’ outrage stems from Trump’s travel ban imposed early on in his term, one that prevented people from six different countries -which had predominantly Muslim populations – from entering the US. In fact, the British protested this as well, when 30,000 people marched down Downing Street in London against what they called “inciting racial hatred” according to The Independent.
Despite the backlash, President Trump shows no signs of stopping. He has stated he will continue his policies on multiple occasions, and barring a minor setback due to a disgruntled Twitter employee, his account remains active.
Decaying relations between the US and the UK have been evident since President Trump took the oath of office. While Prime Minister May is a supporter of President Trump, she faces backlash from her own people as well for actions she has taken during her term such as Brexit.
Additionally, on November 30, Trump publicly rebuked May, saying in a tweet, “Don’t focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom!”
Prime Minister May has never responded yet, although The Guardian believes she will address President Trump and his behavior in a speech she is to give following her trips to Saudi Arabia and Iraq.
A falling out of two of the world’s oldest and most powerful pair of allies does not bode well for the democratic world. The UK is the US’s second largest trading partner, and in contrast the US is the UK’s second largest trading partner after the EU collectively, according to The Guardian.
Losing this would be detrimental not only to each other’s economy but also to the fight against terrorism, as the US and the UK and both in the top three of deployed troops in the Middle East, with Russia being in the mix as well, according to The Independent. This has people on campus uneasy.
“I voted Trump in the election, but now I’m not sure if he’s the right man for the job,” senior Xander Rogers said. “I still think he can make us strong independently, but in today’s world that’s not what we need right now. We need allies that can help us defend against threats such as terrorism.”
Kyle Caddo is a senior from Chester, NJ. Originally from Long Island, Kyle plays for the hockey team.