AFP |
US President Donald Trump turns from pomp and ceremony to politics and business on Tuesday as he meets Prime Minister Theresa May on the second day of a state visit to Britain expected to be accompanied by mass protests.
An orange blimp of a baby Trump dressed in a diaper is set to fly over central London as the US leader sits down for breakfast with UK business executives before heading into negotiations with May’s team.
The Trump Baby is back!
It’s being inflated now at Parliament Square, we expect it to fly between 10 and 12 today. @LBC pic.twitter.com/hugqCIKWiO
— Rachael Venables (@rachaelvenables) June 4, 2019
Trump’s three-day visit is technically centered around Wednesday’s D-Day 75th-anniversary commemorations on the south shore of England. But it comes at an especially chaotic time for Britain.
Big Trade Deal
May will step down as Conservative Party leader on Friday over her inability to deliver Brexit despite focusing on little else in three years on the job.
She will stay on as prime minister until her successor is found among 13 contenders who must make some difficult choices before the twice-delayed Brexit deadline on October 31.
Read more: Brexit backfires for May; proves career ending
Trump has already weighed in by urging Britain to walk away from the EU without an agreement – and suggested that Brexit-backing former foreign minister Boris Johnson would be an “excellent” choice to head the government and get it done.
He tweeted on Monday that the US could offer Britain a “big Trade Deal” once it drops the “shackles” of the European trade bloc of which it has been a member for 46 years.
….Fake News will be working hard to find them. Great love all around. Also, big Trade Deal is possible once U.K. gets rid of the shackles. Already starting to talk!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2019
But the “special relationship” between the two countries will also be tested by Britain’s possible use of Chinese firm Huawei’s technology in 5G networks and different approaches to Iran.
A senior UK government official told The Times newspaper that May would make “no apologies” over her reported decision to let Huawei build some non-essential parts of the next-generation mobile service.
May will give Trump a copy of one of the most significant documents in the transatlantic “special relationship” – a framed copy of Winston Churchill’s personal draft of the 1941 Atlantic Charter
The US administration has strongly hinted that this may limit its ability to share intelligence with Britain.
Visit to War Rooms
May is expected to tell the business breakfast that Britain will strive to strike a US “bilateral free trade agreement, with broader economic cooperation”.
“Through dialogue [with Trump] like this, we can ensure that our economic partnership not only endures but continues to grow stronger for many years to come,” May said in comments released by her office.
The talks will also be attended by UK finance minister Philip Hammond and international trade minister Liam Fox. The US delegation includes Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
Read more: UK employment hits record high despite Brexit uncertainty
“We will want to see better access to services in the US and we will have to offer something in return,” Fox told BBC radio on Tuesday.
May will give Trump a copy of one of the most significant documents in the transatlantic “special relationship” – a framed copy of Winston Churchill’s personal draft of the 1941 Atlantic Charter that which defined the Allied goals post-World War II.
This is a copy of Churchill's personal typescript draft of 1941’s Atlantic Charter – setting out his and President Roosevelt’s goals for a post-war world.
PM @Theresa_May will present this as a gift to @POTUS Donald Trump as part of the #USStateVisit pic.twitter.com/W0VEr5gyQF
— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) June 4, 2019
Trump and May will also go on a private tour of the Churchill War Rooms from which Britain’s wartime prime minister ran his operations.
Noise Protests
Their talks are set to be accompanied by the sounds of a “noise protests” of thousands of anti-Trump activists.
The demonstration will rally round a giant inflatable balloon mocking Trump by depicting him as an orange baby.
Opposition Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn promised to speak at the rally after skipping a banquet hosted by Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace on Monday in protest at Trump’s policies.
Tomorrow's protest against Donald Trump's state visit is an opportunity to stand in solidarity with those he's attacked in America, around the world and in our own country – including, just this morning, @SadiqKhan.
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) June 3, 2019
He said the protest was “an opportunity to stand in solidarity with those he’s attacked in America, around the world and in our own country”.
Trump’s day will be rounded off with dinner at the US ambassador’s residence. The heir to the throne Prince Charles and his wife Camilla will attend on behalf of the queen.
“The Queen and the entire Royal family have been fantastic,” Trump tweeted on Monday.
London part of trip is going really well. The Queen and the entire Royal family have been fantastic. The relationship with the United Kingdom is very strong. Tremendous crowds of well wishers and people that love our Country. Haven’t seen any protests yet, but I’m sure the….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 3, 2019
“The relationship with the United Kingdom is very strong.”
May and Trump will conclude the trip by joining other world leaders on Wednesday in the English port of Portsmouth to commemorate 75 years since the D-Day landings changed the course of World War II.
“We owe an immeasurable debt to the British, American and Allied soldiers who began the liberation of Europe on 6th June 1944,” the queen told Monday’s banquet.
AFP with additional input by GVS news desk