The Guardian view on Donald Trump’s UK visit: a mistake

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/apr/23/the-guardian-view-on-donald-trumps-uk-visit-a-mistake

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Rolling out the red carpet for a US president ought to be easier than this. Britain and America share a “special relationship” which rests on a common language, histories and ideals. Yet Donald Trump makes building on this impossible. He is no friend of this country. The president has repeatedly attacked leading British politicians, singling out London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan. He retweets fascists. On the day news emerged that Mr Trump would be accorded a state visit to Britain, he was threatening to veto a UN resolution against the use of rape as a weapon of war. America has been taken over by a demagogue who sees Brexit as an opportunity for a rabble-rouser to rise here too. He is a dangerous liar whom racists and misogynists think of as one of their own. Mr Trump ought to be held at a distance, not invited for dinner with the Queen.

Yet the United States and Britain have undeniably close relations in every sphere – economic, cultural and military. These will remain long after Mr Trump leaves office. It might be argued that indulging Mr Trump’s desire to be feted by a monarch is a small price to pay to keep Washington engaged with Britain. Yet this is to underestimate the US president. Mr Trump is a media-savvy operator. He uses the world stage as a political advert for his brand of mendacious nationalism. Mr Trump did meet the Queen last year on a flying visit on the way to ceremonies in France to mark the 1918 armistice. Before he arrived, he had attacked Angela Merkel over the level of Germany’s defence spending at a Nato summit. On the day of his meeting with Theresa May he criticised her in an interview with the Sun while lavishing praise on her rival Boris Johnson. He then went to France and mocked the country for not fighting to the last man when under Nazi occupation. One shudders at the thought of headlines generated by a state visit which coincides with the 75th anniversary of D-day.

Mr Trump does not care what Britain, or any other US ally, thinks. He only wants them to know he does not care what they think. That is why Mrs May has failed to change Mr Trump’s mind on the Iran nuclear deal or the Paris agreement on climate change. It is why he rashly committed to withdrawing troops from Syria and Afghanistan without telling allies.

During his last visit, Mr Trump avoided central London due to the expected protests. He will have to endure them this time. John Bercow, the Commons Speaker, refused to offer Mr Trump an invitation to address parliament. He has previously said it was an “earned honour” and not a right. Mr Trump has earned no such distinction. He engineered the most racially divisive US election in years, ranting about Mexican “rapists” and promising a Muslim travel ban. In office his draconian border policy caged migrant children in isolation from their parents. Mr Trump gives the impression of destroying, not defending, democracy. Giving him a platform in Westminster won’t oil the springs of diplomacy. It will just allow another eruption from a fountain of dishonour.