So I’ve kept an eye on the UK parliament ever since Speaker John Bercow announced he did not want President Donald Trump to speak to parliament on his UK visit. At least 163 Members of Parliament (MPs) signed a petition to keep Trump from speaking at Westminster Hall.
Well, due to the ruckus, reports have emerged that Trump’s visit may occur at the end of summer when parliament is not in session. This means Trump can “avoid a formal snub.”
The Guardian reported:
According to Westminster sources, a weekend visit at the very end of August or in September is now under discussion between the government, Buckingham Palace and the White House. A source described such a plan as “the preferred option at our end”. Parliament will be in summer recess until 5 September and adjourns again for the party conferences on 15 September for nearly a month.Such an arrangement would mean that Trump would not be invited to address parliament at all. The approach follows Bercow’s statement this week that he would not give his consent either to a speech by the president in Westminster Hall or in the royal gallery, both of which have traditionally been used for addresses by visiting statesmen and women.
Prime Minister Theresa May visited Trump at the White House where she told him that Queen Elizabeth II has invited him on a state visit.
The invite ignited a petition to the queen to rescind the invitation with more than 1.8 million signing it:
The petition said that while Trump should be allowed to enter the U.K. in his capacity as president of the Unites States, “he should not be invited to make an official State Visit because it would cause embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen.”“Donald Trump’s well documented misogyny and vulgarity disqualifies him from being received by Her Majesty the Queen or the Prince of Wales. Therefore during the term of his presidency Donald Trump should not be invited to the United Kingdom for an official State Visit,” the petition said.
There is also chatter that the government may limit Trump’s time in London due to numerous protests against him. People in London have already gathered around Westminster to protest the president due to his executive order that halted immigration from seven countries for a few months.
Trump may visit the Midlands instead “to address a mass rally and raise money for Armed Forces veterans.” In other words, a Brexit-friendly area. Some have suggested a rally in Birmingham to paying attendees, “with profits going to the Royal British Legion.” The Telegraph continued:
It is felt that a gathering in the Brexit heartland might offer President Trump a more sympathetic hearing as a supporter of Britain out of the European Union.One source close to the president said: “It would be his biggest rally with 85,000 people coming together to celebrate the US-UK special relationship. If he is not speaking to the Houses of Parliament, let’s go to the people. The only person who gets screwed is the Speaker of the House of Commons.”
But of course this has caused some controversy as well. Labour MP Liam Byrne started a petition (petition all the things!) to keep Trump away from Birmingham. Byrne does not like the idea of Trump visiting a speech that costs attendees. He wouldn’t mind if Trump visited “to meet its multicultural communities.”
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