On his day one of visit to Britain on Monday, United States President Donald Trump called the London mayor a “stone cold loser”. Trump is in the United Kingdom for a three-day state visit, which includes the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
The US president claimed London Mayor Sadiq Khan was doing a terrible job. “Kahn reminds me very much of our dumb and incompetent Mayor of NYC, de Blasio, who has also done a terrible job — only half his height,” Trump said on Twitter before reaching United Kingdom. Trump said Khan should pay attention to London’s crime rate.
Khan, on his part, said the UK should not “roll out the red carpet for Trump”. In a video posted by Elle UK on Twitter, Khan said the US president was promoting policies that would relegate women to second-class status. “Your values and what you stand for are the complete opposite of London’s values and the values in the country,” Khan said.
Trump and Khan have had a bad history, according to The New York Times. Since 2006, they have differed on various matters including immigration and terrorism. Earlier, Khan had described Trump as “just one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat” and likened his language to that used by “fascists of the 20th century.” He called out Trump for banning travellers from Muslim countries.
Queen Elizabeth II welcomed Trump to Buckingham Palace with an honour guard and royal artillery salute. Members of Britain’s royalty treated the US president and Melania Trump, to lunch and a state banquet at Buckingham Palace. The dignitaries from the US had afternoon tea with the Prince of Wales and his wife, Duchess of Cornwall, at their residence. They paid tributes at Westminster Abbey, where England’s queens and kings are crowned, married and laid to rest.
However, Trump expressed his unhappiness with CNN’s coverage of his arrival over Twitter. “After watching it for a short while, I turned it off,” the president said. “All negative & so much Fake News, very bad for U.S.”
At the banquet, Trump and Queen Elizabeth II exchanged toasts. In his toast, Trump spoke of the shared legacy of the D-Day invasion 75 years ago. He hailed the queen as “a great, great woman”. The queen pointed out that the institutions like NATO that Britain and the US helped to create after World War II to prevent another war. “While the world has changed, we are forever mindful of the original purpose of these structures,” she said.
Trump praised the “eternal friendship” between the UK and US while the queen said the countries were celebrating an alliance which had ensured the “safety and prosperity of both our peoples for decades”, reported BBC.
On Tuesday, Trump is scheduled to visit Prime Minister Theresa May at 10 Downing St. Protests have been planned in several cities, including London. A “national demonstration” will start at Trafalgar Square at 11 am [local time] on Tuesday. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is likely to speak at the London demonstration.
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