One of the first world leaders to meet trump was the British Prime minister Theresa May. She had invited the president for a State Visit which was accepted. A year has passed and as yet there is no sign of a state visit to the UK. It was expected that Trump would Visit London on a low-key visit to inaugurate the new US embassy.
Trump has now in notified the public that this visit is canceled and the reason given by him is his displeasure over the location of the new embassy. The new US embassy is located in Nine Elms, South London. BBC has reported that this cancellation could be a cover-up for the fact that the visit was not likely to have the trappings of pomp and show which the president loves.
Presidents visits
The president has visited many countries and also traveled to China but conspicuously the UK has not been on his itinerary. The queen, in her address to parliament, had not made any mention of a state visit by Trump. In addition, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan is in a running feud with Trump and recently tweeted that the cancellation of the London visit of Trump was because he had seen the writing on the wall. Trump ‘s advisors have feared widespread protests if he visits England and this is one of the reasons for not visiting the UK. The Economic Times has reported that 55% of British citizens disapprove of Donald’s visit to the UK.
The divide
Another reason could be the divide between the UK and America on the recognition by Trump of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Theresa May has voiced her opposition to this move.
Last year the president got into a spat with the British PM when he had shared videos by a far-right anti-Muslim from the UK. The British PM and most politicians were not enamored with the action of Trump. All these had a cumulative effect. Coupled with his approval ratings being low in the UK, the Daily Mail has reported that he canceled his visit as he was “unhappy about the arrangements and scale of the visit,"
UK and America
It's not clear when Trump might visit the UK.
Trump has tweeted that all countries who supported the UN resolution on Jerusalem, will have to pay a price. One wonders what he will do about the UK which for more than a hundred and fifty years has been a steadfast ally of the US.
The failure of the UK to go along with the US on Jerusalem would have been a surprise to him. Now that the visit to London is canceled, the cutting of the ribbon for the inauguration of the new embassy will be done by Rex Tillerson, the Secretary of state.
