Donald Trump cancels his visit to London
(Photo:BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP/Getty Images)
President Trump has cancelled his upcoming visit to Britain, blaming the three-mile move of the US embassy in London.
The US president was set to visit London February 26th and 27th for the opening of the new US embassy.
However, President Trump announced that he had cancelled the visit in a tweet on Thursday.
Trump referenced the new US embassy in London as the reason for the cancellation, calling the move of the embassy from North to South London a ‘bad deal’.
(Photo: @realdonaldtrump /Twitter)
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan welcomed the news of the cancelled visit, adding it was clear that Trump had “got the message” that he was not welcome in the UK.
“It appears that President Trump got the message from the many Londoners who love and admire America and Americans but find his policies and actions the polar opposite of our city’s values of inclusion, diversity and tolerance.”
He continued: “His visit next month would without doubt have been met by mass peaceful protests. This just reinforces what a mistake it was for Theresa May to rush and extend an invitation of a state visit in the first place.”
Mass protests were expected during Trump’s visit, with many Londoners planning protests months in advance due to his many horrendous stances, including his ban on transgender people in the military and his support for homophobe and alleged child molester Roy Moore.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan
The old and new embassies are less than four miles apart and the embassy remains in central London, contrary to Trump’s criticism of it as an ‘off location.’
The new US embassy will be on London’s Southbank and will reportedly be one of the most secure buildings in London, featuring a 100ft ‘moat.’
President Trump criticised the Obama Administration for the sale of the original embassy, despite the fact that the move was planned in 2008, whilst George W Bush was still President.
The locations of the new and old embassies.
This move was partially planned due to fears that the current US embassy was not secure enough, as well as being too small to adequately host the 800 members of staff working in the building.
Related: Protest against Trump have just reached space
President Trump was originally invited for a full state visit to the UK after his election in 2016.
The New US Embassy (Photo by Stefan Rousseau – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
However, after a significant backlash and planned mass protests against Trump, this visit was downgraded from a full state visit to a less formal two-day trip.
Tensions between the US and the UK rose after President Trump retweeted three videos from far-right group Britain First late last year.
(Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
In light of Trump’s cancellation, a spokesperson for Downing Street maintained their previous position, stating: “an invitation has been extended and accepted, but no date has been set.”
In light of Trump’s cancellation, waxwork museum Madame Tussauds moved their wax portrayal of President Trump to outside of the new embassy.
(Photo: Yui Mok / @PAImages)
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will reportedly be replacing President Trump for the opening of the embassy.
