Protests in Cov over Trump’s UK visit
COVENTRY will see protests against the visit of President Donald Trump on Friday as London expects to host 50,000 demonstrators in a ‘Carnival of Resistance.’
Leamington will also have anti-Trump protestors gather outside its Town Hall as the President visits the UK.
The US President is in Britain from today to Sunday though the event was called a working visit rather than a State Visit by the Government.
The tycoon turned politician will still meet the Queen and Prince Philip as well as having diplomatic discussions with Theresa May.
His visit has been made awkward by comments he made before jetting to Europe about the UK being in turmoil and saying he could meet former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson who quit his post on Monday.
Trump will travel in the UK by helicopter and jet and his stays will be at Blenheim Palace and Chequers, near Wendover. It was there Theresa May hammered out an EU strategy with her cabinet last week prompted the resignation of Johnson, as well as former Brexit Secretary David Davis.
Those resignations are part of the turmoil to which Trump was referring.
The President is also expected to go to Scotland to play golf at his course at Turnberry in Ayrshire.
Coventrians who want to protest against Trump will gather at Friargate at 3pm on Friday.
Joe Connor, organiser from Coventry’s Stand Up to Racism chapter, told CoventryLive: “We’re having a march, gathering at 3pm outside Friargate, then marching through the city centre reaching Broadgate for a rally, organised by the Stand Up to Racism in Coventry.
“So far we have a hundred people interested to protest against Trump, after he has said some things quite personal against local people for instance that Birmingham was now a ‘whites-free zone,’ and since he was elected there are those who felt it is fine to be openly racist.
“It is up to the people of America, that is democracy but the reason we’re doing the march is to show solidarity with our American friends [who oppose Trump].
“There are a lot of people in Coventry who couldn’t go to London due to transport costs or having disabilities, and the march will be part of Stand Up To Racism protests.”