Protests planned as summit brings Trump back to UK
Appeal to end ‘partisan investigations’
DONALD TRUMP is expected to return to the UK in December for a Nato summit, prompting fresh plans for protests against the US president.
The controversial leader, who has repeatedly clashed with the military alliance, will meet with heads of state in London, Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg announced.
It will be Mr Trump’s second visit to Britain since his election, having jetted in amid numerous protests last July and left behind a policing bill totalling more than £14m.
Mr Stoltenberg said that “allies have agreed” that the next Nato heads of state and government summit will be held in London in December.
Prime Minister Theresa May “looks forward to welcoming all Nato leaders”, her official spokesman said when asked about Mr Trump’s next visit.
In a statement, the Prime Minister said the meeting will be an important moment in deciding how to “modernise” the alliance in the year of its 70th anniversary.
Nato said the meeting is planned as a summit of heads of state, but it is up to individual nations to determine who to send.
A date and venue is yet to be determined but the president’s UK critics quickly eyed-up the opportunity to protest.
The Liberal Democrats said they will be “front and centre to protest his visit”, while the Green Party tweeted “we’ll be there to greet him”, adding a defiant gesture. The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament pledged to organise London protests against “Trump’s nuclear warmongering”, as well as against Nato.
Policing Mr Trump’s fourday visit in July cost more than £14.2m, figures obtained by the Press Association showed this week.
There were marches against his presence across the UK, as he met the Queen at Windsor Castle, was hosted by Mrs May at her country retreat Chequers, and played golf at one of his resorts in Scotland.
While the proposed visit in December would follow a different schedule, there will be concerns over the cost.
Yesterday, the Prime Minister said the challenges of today are “very different” from those when the alliance established its first headquarters in London in 1949.
US PRESIDENT Donald Trump called on Washington to reject “the politics of revenge, resistance and retribution” as he faced a divided Congress for the first time.
Mr Trump, who has spent two years levelling fiercely personal attacks on his Democratic rivals, declared that it was time “to bridge old divisions, heal old wounds, build new coalitions, forge new solutions and unlock the extraordinary promise of America’s future”.
He warned emboldened Democrats that “ridiculous partisan investigations” into his administration and businesses could hamper a surging American economy.
The president’s appeals for bipartisanship in his State of the Union address clashed with the rancorous atmosphere he has helped cultivate in the nation’s capital – as well as the desire of most Democrats to block his agenda during his next two years in office.
Their opposition was on vivid display as Democratic congresswomen in the audience formed a sea of white in a nod to early 20thcentury suffragettes.
Speaking at a critical moment in his presidency, Mr Trump sought to shore up Republican support and previewed a fresh
defence against Democrats as they ready a round of investigations into every aspect of his administration.
“If there is going to be peace and legislation, there cannot be war and investigation,” he declared.
Looming over the president’s address was a fast-approaching February 15 deadline to fund the government and avoid another shutdown.
Democrats have refused to acquiesce to his demands for a border wall, and Republicans are increasingly unwilling to shut down the government to help him fulfil his signature campaign pledge.
Wary of publicly highlighting those intra-party divisions, Mr Trump made no mention of an emergency declaration in his remarks, though he did offer a lengthy defence of his call for a border wall. But he delivered no ultimatums about what it would take for him to sign legislation to keep the government open.
“I am asking you to defend our very dangerous southern border out of love and devotion to our fellow citizens and to our country,” he said.
Mr Trump devoted much of his speech to foreign policy, another area where Republicans have increasingly distanced themselves from the White House.
He announced details of a second meeting with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, outlining a summit on February 27 and 28 in Vietnam. The two met last summer in Singapore, though that meeting only led to a vaguely worded commitment by the North to denuclearise.
Mr Trump’s address amounted to an opening argument for his re-election campaign. Polls show he has work to do, with his approval rating falling to just 34 per cent in a recent survey.
One bright spot for the president has been the economy, and he described the US as “the hottest economy anywhere in the world”.
I am asking you to defend our border out of love and devotion. President Trump defends his proposed Mexican border wall in the address.