Welby mystified by US Christians
BRITAIN/UNITED STATES: The Archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Reverend Justin Welby, has said he does not understand why fundamentalist Christians in the US support President Donald Trump.
The archbishop said he ‘‘really genuinely’’ had no idea how Trump had secured such a significant support base among churchgoers.
He made the admission as he described Trump’s attitude towards women as ‘‘completely unacceptable’’.
Questioned on why he believed the president received support from fundamentalist Christians in the US, he replied: ‘‘There’s two things going through my mind: do I say what I think, or do I say what I should say?
‘‘And I’m going to say what I think. No I don’t understand it. I really genuinely do not understand where that is coming from.’’ However, Welby conceded he would attend an official state dinner, which he has traditionally been invited to, if the president came on an official visit.
He said: ‘‘Part of the job is to meet people you disagree with and to testify of the love of Christ to them and to seek to draw them into a different way. The odds are, it would be unlikely I’d do more than shake hands with him.’’
Welby previously accused Trump of being part of a group of leaders from a ‘‘nationalist, populist, or even fascist tradition of politics’’.
Exactly when Trump will make a visit is unclear. The latest suggestion is it could be early next year, possibly to open the new American embassy in Wandsworth. Since taking office he has been to the Far East, the Middle East, Italy, Poland, Belgium, German and France – but not the UK, despite having been in office for 10 months.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: ‘‘Our position on the state visit has not changed – an offer has been extended and President Trump has accepted. Exact dates for President Trump to visit have not yet been arranged.’’
While Lyndon Johnson and Gerald Ford never made an official visit to Britain, most other recent incumbents of the Oval Office did cross the Atlantic early in their presidency.
However, a visit by Trump remains problematic. Despite an invitation from Prime Minister Theresa May, there is strong opposition across the political spectrum.
In February, John Bercow, the House of Commons Speaker, made clear he ‘‘strongly opposed’’ granting Trump the honour of addressing both houses of parliament. Trump has also succeeded in antagonising Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, with attacks on Twitter.
Meanwhile, Trump used Twitter over the weekend to round on his media foes. The president’s preferred channel is the conservative station, Fox News.
Trump accused CNN of representing the US to the world ‘‘very poorly’’. CNN, tweeting under the hashtag Factsfirst, wrote: ‘‘It’s not CNN’S job to represent the US to the world. That’s yours. Our job is to report the news.’’