Time for President Trump to grow up

THERESA May does not want to be the Prime Minister who puts the so-called “special relationship” with the United States in the deep freeze – not when the UK will have to strike a trade deal with the superpower post-Brexit.

Revoking the invitation to Donald Trump to come to Britain on a state visit would earn Mrs May an angry foe. The evidence shows this is a President who remembers slights.

But his own actions are ensuring that when the red carpet is rolled out for him he may notice a definite chill in the air. There is widespread disgust that he has exploited recent terrorist attacks for his own political gain and has sought to pick a fight with the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who along with Lib Dem leader Tim Farron says the visit should be cancelled.

When Mr Trump won the election there was a cautious willingness to give him the chance to demonstrate that he possessed maturity and wisdom he had not displayed on the campaign battlefield.

He clearly had a gift for electoral tactics that his rivals had failed to appreciate. Did he also have a long-term strategy to help the US and the world overcome a raft of pressing challenges?

We can still hope that his bid to bring peace to the Middle East will deliver results, and if he can provide a new model for how inner cities and former industrial heartlands can be revived, so much the better.

But it is abundantly clear he has not abandoned the vulgarity which appalled so many people in his own party. His lewd comments about women will not be forgotten, but nor will his wilful misrepresentation of the Mayor of London’s comments in the wake of a terror attack.

Mr Khan said people should not be alarmed by the sight of an increased police presence. Mr Trump responded by tweeting: “At least seven dead and 48 wounded in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is ‘no reason to be alarmed!’”.

The President then accused the Mayor of making a “pathetic excuse” for his statement. This came as he pushed for his proposed travel ban (which follows on from his pledge to stop Muslims coming into the US), attacked newspapers and criticised his own Justice Department.

A cynic might suggest he is trying to engineer rows to divert attention from the evidence former FBI director James Comey will present tomorrow to the Senate Intelligence Committee. The FBI has stepped up its investigation into Russian attempts to influence the US election and attention will focus on whether there was coordination with people close to the Trump campaign.

Mr Trump would love the headlines to be dominated by a row with the UK, just as he doubtless hopes that the condemnation he has received for announcing the US withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement will convince voters in the “rust belt” he is working to rekindle heavy industry.

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