Mayor would refuse meet with Trump
BURNHAM SAYS ‘MATTER OF PRINCIPLE’ NOT TO HOST USA PRESIDENT
MAYOR Andy Burnham would refuse to meet Donald Trump were he to visit Greater Manchester during his planned state visit, he has told the M.E.N.
Mr Burnham said that as a ‘matter of principle’ he would not host the U.S. President after he shared ‘hateful, extremist material’ online.
The mayor has joined with politicians of all parties – including the Prime Minister – to condemn Mr Trump for retweeting a series of videos by the far-right group Britain First. He also called on Theresa May to withdraw the President’s invitation for a full state visit.
But the Prime Minister has declined to do so – with one Conservative backbencher suggesting Mr Trump use that trip to visit cities such as Manchester, in order to better understand the country’s Muslim community.
Nadhim Zahawi, MP for Stratford-Upon-Avon, wrote in a letter to the White House that the President would ‘find enlightening’ the experience of ‘visiting our beautiful cities like Coventry, Birmingham, Manchester and London’ in order to see how different communities live ‘peaceably’ alongside one another.
However, Greater Manchester’s mayor made clear that should Manchester feature on the President’s itinerary, he would not be welcomed.
“Greater Manchester has always stood against extremism of any kind and that includes the extreme views emanating from the Oval Office,” Mr Burnham told the M.E.N.
“I call on the Prime Minister to withdraw the invitation of a state visit. Donald Trump’s presence in Greater Manchester would go against the values that people here stand for.
“It is a matter of principle that I don’t meet people who distribute hateful, extremist material.”
Meanwhile, Manchester council leader Sir Richard Leese has joked on Twitter that the city was shutting its town hall for two years ‘just in case’ Mr Trump did visit, a tonguein-cheek reference to the building’s planned closure for refurbishment.
The U.S. President prompted fury at Westminster earlier this week when he retweeted videos posted by Britain First’s deputy leader Jayden Fransen, purporting to show Muslims committing violent acts.
When his actions were rebuked by Downing Street as ‘wrong’ he took to Twitter again, posting: “Theresa May, don’t focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom. We are doing just fine!”
That prompted further outrage and an urgent parliamentary debate which saw politicians across the party divide castigate the president.
During a press conference while on a visit to the Middle East Theresa May said Britain First was a ‘hateful organisation,’ adding: “The fact that we work together does not mean that we are afraid to say when we think that the United States have got it wrong.”