After being criticized for his controversial response to the London terror attacks earlier this month, President Donald Trump may postpone or completely cancel a scheduled trip to Britain later this year, The New York Timesreports. Two administration officials revealed Trump’s skepticism of visiting Britain after verbally targeting London mayor Sadiq Khan on Twitter following attacks in central London.
When Khan made a statement telling London residents not to feel alarmed at increased police presence in the city, Trump took his words out of context, tweeting that the remark was a “pathetic excuse.”
Pathetic excuse by London Mayor Sadiq Khan who had to think fast on his "no reason to be alarmed" statement. MSM is working hard to sell it!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2017
This past week, Khan appeared on a British news outlet saying that he did not approve of Trump going through with his upcoming visit, The Guardianreports. “I don’t think we should roll out the red carpet to the president of the USA in the circumstances where his policies go against everything we stand for,” he said. “When you have a special relationship it is no different from when you have got a close mate. You stand with them in times of adversity but you call them out when they are wrong. There are many things about which Donald Trump is wrong.”
While National Security Council and State Department officials have yet to take a “preadvance” trip to Britain to finalize logistics, reports claim that Trump has said he wants to avoid an “overly long” international trip. Sources point out that he also prefers other leaders to visit him in the States, but the British response to Trump’s earlier actions could be the defining factor in the trip’s future. According to the Times, poll results show that over half of the British public see Trump as a “threat to global stability.”
With the trip to Britain initially included in a July trip to Europe, it is uncertain when the visit will occur if it happens as planned. If Trump does make it to the UK before the end of the year, it’s safe to say that it would quite the interesting journey to follow.
