AsDonald Trump‘svisit to the U.K. nears, many locals are expressing their disdain of the American president, including London’s mayor Sadiq Khan.
“History tells us only two presidents have had a state visit. President Trump is not in the same class as those two,” he said during aninterviewwith British radio showLeading Britain’s Conversationon Friday.
Though he did not name the former presidents, Khan was speaking aboutBarack Obama, who visited in 2011, and George W. Bush, who visited in 2003.
“Of course we should have a close relationship with the president of the United States, but we shouldn’t be rolling out the red carpet; we shouldn’t have a state banquet,” Khan continued in his interview, discussing Trump’s upcomingmeeting with Queen Elizabethin June.
“It’s possible to have a working relationship without the need to have a state banquet and roll out the red carpet,” he added.
Khan, who has been mayor since May 2016, is not invited to the state banquet.
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But Trump’s official state trip was repeatedly delayed, withspeculation that it was due toworries over the protests he might face. Amongother controversies in his relationshipwith Britain, Trump sparked intense backlash in June 2017 afterhe attacked Khanin the wake of a terror attack there.
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That was not the only example of Trump and Khan’s contentious back and forth.
In May 2016, the president called Khan “rude” and “ignorant” during an interview withGood Morning Britain.
“The impression is being given that you can get away from it — that you get a get-out-of-jail card. But it’s worse than that,” Khan said. “There’s a boasting and bragging, it’s almost like a green light for others to behave badly.”
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Khan is not the only one in the U.K. opposing Trump’s state visit.
In July 2018, whenTrump first met with Queen Elizabethat Windsor Castle, there were protests about his working trip, including a “Stop Trump March” in London which drew tens of thousands of people.
source: people.com
