U.S. Embassy advises Americans to keep ‘low profile’ ahead of Trump’s U.K. visit
The Washington Post
LONDON — It looks a little scary there on the homepage of U.S. Embassy in London: the word ALERT.
The State Department is warning Americans “to keep a low profile” and “be aware of your surroundings” this week.
The reason: demonstrations are planned against President Donald Trump, in London, as well as Windsor, Bristol, Newcastle, Leeds, Cambridge, Cardiff, Glasgow and the west coast of Scotland, where Mr. Trump has a golf course.
While Mr. Trump on Friday is having lunch with Prime Minister Theresa May at her Chequers country estate or sipping tea with Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle, tens of thousands of demonstrators — maybe more — are planning to gather in London’s Trafalgar Square to protest the president and his policies.
The demonstrators plan to loft a large blimp-like balloon over the skies beside Westminster Palace, depictinga bronzed “Trump baby” in a pair of nappies — that’s Brit slang for “diaper” — clutching a mobile phone.
Mr. Trump will spend Thursday night in London at Winfield House, the official residence of U.S. Ambassador to Britain, Robert “Woody” Johnson. The couple will attend a gala dinner at Blenheim Palace out in the countryside on Thursday evening.
Mr. Johnson has told reporters that Americans respected peaceful protest and that he is not upset by the decision to allow the “Trump baby” balloon to be displayed near Parliament.
The embassy also warned Americans to “exercise caution if unexpectedly in the vicinity of large gatherings that may become violent.”
The British are usually polite to a fault — though they have been known to go off after a soccer match or once the pubs close.
On Wednesday, the Guardian newspaper reported “the UK police mobilisation for Mr. Trump’s visit would be the largest since the 2011 English riots,” when London was shocked by five days of violence and unrest, with wild scenes of looting and arson, met by mass deployment of 10,000 police. The riots were sparked when police shot and killed a suspect as part of an investigation of gun violence in London’s black community.
Organizers of anti-Trump rallies say they are not expecting trouble — and that it would be very unlikely for any hostility to be directed at ordinary Americans. Just the opposite, in fact. Asad Rehman, 51, one of the organizers of a massive protest planned for central London, said that among the motivations behind the protest was to show solidarity with Americans across the Atlantic who also oppose Mr. Trump.
“It’s important for us to send a powerful signal to those who are resisting and campaigning in America that we are standing in solidarity with them,” Mr. Rehman said.
On social media, some accused the State Department of scare-mongering. A spokesperson at the U.S. Embassy in London said there was nothing political about the timing of the alert, that such warnings were routine. The protocol is that if embassy staff are warned internally about possible threats, then the American public mustbe as well, she said.
John Scardino, 58, a high school teacher from the United States who has lived in Britain for 18 years and will be at Friday’s protests in London, is dubious that the embassy alert would have anyeffect on crowd size.
Mr. Trump “has proudly sparked passionate often divisive emotions about things, I think Americans living here to eager to turn out and express their views,” he said.
On Friday evening, Mr. Trump and the first lady will whisk up to Scotland for a weekend of golf and relaxation — and more protests outside his resort.