Poll shows Trump not welcome here
PRESIDENT Donald Trump need not expect a warm welcome when he comes to Britain, writes Marco Giannangeli.
The US President has been invited for a State visit by Theresa May, but an exclusive poll for the Sunday Express found that fewer than one in three thought it should go ahead.
More than six out of 10 women felt he should not be afforded the honour. The President has faced repeated accusations of sexual harassment.
FEWER than one in three Britons believe Donald Trump should enjoy a State visit to the UK, a Sunday Express poll finds.
Sources close to his administration insist that President Trump, an ardent admirer of The Queen, is still keen on an official visit, despite recently cancelling a trip to open the new US Embassy.
However, in the poll of 2,021 people, more than half – 56 per cent – answered “no” when asked if the US President should be given a State visit.
Less than a third – 30 per cent – backed a visit, while 14 per cent said they didn’t know, according to the survey carried out by Norstat last week.
They were asked: “Do you think Donald Trump should make a State visit to Britain?” Women were particularly averse to the idea, with 61 per cent opposed and only 22 per cent in favour, suggesting that concerns over claims of sexist behaviour attributed to Trump before he came to power may also be a factor.
The poll came as activists yesterday surrounded the new US embassy in south London to protest against the visit on the anniversary of his inauguration. They declared the US President a “racist bigot” and, just hours after it was confirmed, called for Theresa May to cancel her meeting with him at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, next week.
Tory MP Andrew Rosindell said that the poll results were “worrying” and said America was one of Britain’s closest allies. The MP, who sits on the foreign affairs select committee, said people should consider the UK postBrexit. “We should be building up relationships with allies and friends. People’s personal likes, dislikes and emotions should simply be put aside.
“We’ve had State visits from the King of Saudi Arabia, the Chinese President, Vladimir Putin and even Romania’s Nicolae Ceausescu. “In contrast, the US is a democratic country which holds human rights and defends freedoms and has supported Britain through our worst crisis in the Second World War.” There have been tensions between Mrs May and Mr Trump after the PM criticised him last November for retweeting three inflammatory videos posted online by the far-Right group, Britain First.
President Trump had problems at home last night, as the US braced itself for a federal shutdown.
Last minute talks to avert the closure crumbled as Senate Democrats and Republican rebels – branded “obstructionist losers” by the White House – blocked a four-week extension to all federal spending in a late night vote.
And last night it emerged that US Congress has been questioning whether Russian money could have been used to fund Mr Trump’s golf courses in the UK and Ireland.
‘We should put emotions aside’