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US President Trump Expected to Make State Visit to the UK in July

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Sources close to the White House have revealed that President Trump is set to visit the UK in official capacities. In January last year, Prime Minister Theresa May had promised that she would return the favor by inviting Trump to Britain. However, the tour will not be a full-blown state visit. Irrespective of this, the offer still stands, awaiting confirmation of the details.

Once Trump converses with May about the particulars, the date will be set. In the UK Prime Minister’s press release, she mentioned that she was ecstatic about welcoming Trump to the United Kingdom for official duties come July 13

Importantly, the date seems to have been agreed upon to coincide with the NATO summit in Brussels, which the president is expected to attend. Amazingly, the revelation about Trump’s visit to the UK was supposed to be a coordinated affair by both parties. However, Sarah Sanders, Trump’s spokesperson, let the cat out of the bag.

Irrespective of this, Sir Kim Darroch, the UK ambassador, proclaimed his delight upon learning about the news. He expressed his joy about the July 13 date on a Twitter post.

The Fine Details

Notably, since the news broke before the White House and Downing Street had worked out the fine details, a lot remains to be worked out with regards to the visit. While Trump’s engagement with Theresa May remains the number one agenda on the table, his conversation with the Queen is expected to draw the most action.

The venue for Trump’s tête-à-tête with the Queen is expected to be at either Buckingham Palace or the Windsor Castle. In her capacity as Queen, Elizabeth II has met every sitting US president except Lyndon B Johnson

Of great fascination will also be Trump’s meeting with Labour Leader Jeremy Corbin. At the same time, Trump is expected to have enough time up his sleeve to make a tour to Turnberry. Given the fact that he owns a championship golf course in Turnberry, located on the west coast of Scotland, the idea seems more than plausible.

The key underlying issue during his visits in the public domain will be the attention to detail on policing sufficient enough to keep demonstrators at bay. Due to his public persona, one minister has expressed his belief that Trump will not attempt to go anywhere he believes he’s likely going to get shouted at.

Earlier in the year, Trump canceled a trip to London for the launch of the latest US embassy in Vauxhall. He made complaints about the location, deeming the south of Thames, as an offsite location. However, critics now believe that the decision to rescind the trip was made in light of a fear of protests.

Mixed Reactions

All the same, Trump’s visit to the UK makes absolute sense given the symbolism involved. Just recently, French President Emmanuel Macron visited Trump in Washington DC. The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel is set to fly to the US on Thursday. Thus, the optics behind Trump’s visit to the UK are important as ever

Joining the celebration was Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, who tweeted his sentiments on the matter. His post described the news as “fantastic”. In addition, London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan welcomed Trump’s move to visit the UK in official capacities. All this despite the fact that Khan has previously clashed with Trump with regards to two hot topic issues. The first was the London terror attacks and Trump’s idea to ban Muslims from entering the US.

Amnesty International UK director, Kate Allen voiced her concerns about Trump’s visits. All the same, she vowed that she would be present together with thousands of supporters to make their voices heard. Jo Swinson, the liberal democratic deputy leader retorted by saying that a scaled down trip does not in any way equate to scaled-down protests.

Matt Hancock, the Culture Secretary expressed his belief that the US-UK relationship far exceeded the role of any one person. He further added that the UK needed to have strong strategic ties with the US. Further on, Hancock referred to the US as having ‘the strongest economy on earth’.

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