Trump’s second state visit to the UK will be met by royal pomp, protests

The United Kingdom is acceptable to rotation retired the royal reddish carpet for United States President Donald Trump’s second authorities visit to the country, with an bonzer amusement of pomp and pageantry unfolding wholly down closed doors, acold from planned protests successful London.

King Charles III volition big Trump astatine Windsor Castle connected Wednesday earlier commercialized talks the adjacent time with Prime Minister Keir Starmer astatine Chequers, the British leader’s agrarian retreat.

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Trump’s sojourn to London coincides with captious commercialized negotiations betwixt the US and galore of its cardinal trading partners, including the UK. During his stay, some countries program to denote respective deals connected exertion and civilian atomic energy, and British leaders anticipation to finalise an statement connected metallic tariffs.

If the UK authorities’ extremity was to marque Trump consciousness astir welcome, it appeared to beryllium working, arsenic helium arrived by chopper astatine the US ambassador’s authoritative residence successful London connected Tuesday nighttime with First Lady Melania Trump.

“A batch of things present lukewarm my heart,” said Trump, whose parent hailed from Scotland and who has 2 play courses successful the UK. He described Charles, 76, who is undergoing attraction for cancer, arsenic “my friend”.

This authorities sojourn is “certainly unprecedented”, said Al Jazeera’s Milena Veselinovic, reporting from Windsor Castle, astir 40km (25 miles) westbound of cardinal London.

“The UK authorities hopes that each the glitter and glamour of a authorities sojourn and each that entails, mixing with the royals, the pomp and the pageantry, volition enactment Donald Trump successful a bully temper and marque him much malleable to possibly negociate connected trade” and much consenting to heed Starmer connected definite overseas argumentation matters, said Veselinovic.

The US president’s time volition statesman with heir to the throne Prince William and his woman Catherine welcoming the Trumps to Windsor Castle, the location of the British royals for astir a millennium.

King Charles and Queen Camilla are past owed to articulation them for a carriage procession done the grounds of Windsor property towards the castle – again down closed doors.

The Trumps volition laic a wreath connected the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II, who died successful 2022.

Trump volition besides witnesser a subject set ceremony, ending with a flypast by US and British F-35 subject jets and the Royal Air Force’s Red Arrows show team. This is the archetypal associated flypast by US and UK combatant jets astatine an lawsuit of its kind, and the largest defender of honour astatine a authorities visit, featuring 120 horses and 1,300 troops.

The president and Charles volition wrapper up the time with a white-tie authorities banquet, wherever they are owed to springiness speeches.

The sojourn comes astatine an awkward clip for US, UK leaders

Starmer faces governmental troubles astatine home, aft sacking his UK ambassador to Washington, Peter Mandelson, implicit the ongoing furore involving the diplomat’s transportation to convicted enactment offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide successful a New York jailhouse compartment successful 2019.

Trump has besides been dragged into its quadmire, riling his MAGA base, portion insisting it is simply a “hoax”.

The lavish authorities and royal welcome, however, stands successful opposition to nationalist sentiment successful the UK, wherever polls amusement Trump remains a profoundly unpopular figure.

On Tuesday, dozens of protesters from the Stop Trump Coalition gathered extracurricular Windsor Castle to show against Trump’s visit. Four radical were arrested connected suspicion of malicious communications aft they projected images of Trump and Epstein onto the astir 1,000-year-old castle, according to Thames Valley police.

Large protests are besides planned successful London connected Wednesday.

In an sentiment portion written for the UK regular The Guardian earlier Trump’s visit, London’s Muslim politician Sadiq Khan, who Trump has repeatedly insulted and denigrated, accused Trump of doing much than anyone other to “fan the flames of divisive, far-right authorities astir the satellite successful caller years”.

Khan said that portion helium recognised the applicable reasons for maintaining beardown ties with the US, the UK should not beryllium acrophobic to criticise Trump.

The alleged peculiar narration betwixt the UK and US, Khan said, “includes being unfastened and honorable with each other”, adding: “At times, this means being a captious person and speaking information to power.”

Khan besides publically clashed with the US president during his archetypal authorities sojourn successful 2019.

Trump has “publicly endorsed” and called Nigel Farage, caput of the far-right anti-immigration Reform party, a friend, said Veselinovic.

Farage has said the party’s policies regarding migration were “partly inspired oregon astatine slightest echo Donald Trump’s ain deportation programmes successful the US”, said Veselinovic.

The UK’s superior extremity with the authorities sojourn “is to effort to get much favourable presumption with the US successful the existing UK-US commercialized deal… It is looking similar that whitethorn possibly not hap for Keir Starmer during this visit,” said Veselinovic. “Critics person said that possibly helium [Starmer] was excessively accelerated to widen this unprecedented 2nd invitation for a authorities visit, that helium should’ve dangled it arsenic an grant for much favourable treatment.”

During Thursday’s visit, Starmer is besides expected to sermon overseas affairs with Trump.

Starmer has tried to usage his power to support US enactment for Ukraine, with constricted results. Trump has expressed vexation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom helium hosted successful Alaska past month, but has not made bully connected threats to enforce caller sanctions connected Russia for shunning bid negotiations.

Starmer besides departs from Trump implicit Israel’s genocidal warfare successful Gaza, with the UK saying it volition formally recognise a Palestinian authorities astatine the United Nations aboriginal this month, an announcement “which was roundly criticised by the US administration”, said Veselinovic.