Trump starts three-day visit to UK

Theresa May will bring up the topic of climate change when she meets US president

US President Donald Trump arrived in London on Monday for his controversial state visit to the United Kingdom and, before his plane had even landed, launched another verbal attack on the city's Mayor Sadiq Khan.

Writing in The Observer newspaper the day before Trump's arrival, Khan said it was "un-British" to roll out the red carpet for someone "whose divisive behavior flies in the face of the ideals America was founded upon - equality, liberty and religious freedom", adding "in years to come, I suspect this state visit will be one we look back on with profound regret and acknowledge that we were on the wrong side of history".

Trump tweeted a reply calling Khan, whose name he spelled incorrectly, "a stone cold loser" who "by all accounts has done a terrible job as Mayor of London", before adding "I look forward to being a great friend to the United Kingdom".

British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who formally welcomed Trump, later told reporters that the president had voiced his "strong views about the mayor of London" when they met.

Trump arrived in London the day after the US ambassador to Britain, Woody Johnson, gave an interview to the BBC on the topic of future trade relations, and when asked about US interest in Britain's free at point-of-use National Health Service, said: "I think probably the entire economy would in a trade deal, all things that are traded would be on the table," provoking public outrage.

Trump will spend three days in the UK, including a visit to the south coast city of Portsmouth for commemorations to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the crucial allied military operation of northern France in World War II.

His trip coincides with the last week of Theresa May's premiership, before she steps down as prime minister at the end of the week and in a repeat of events on his visit to the UK last year, Trump has already given a newspaper interview extolling the virtues of Brexit-supporting former foreign secretary Boris Johnson as a potential leader.

He has also advised Britain to prepare to leave the European Union at the end of October without a deal, and proposed a prominent role for Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage in any discussions with the EU.

A major public demonstration against Trump's visit is planned in London on Tuesday, and on its flight path toward Stansted Airport, his plane flew over fields where climate change protesters had carved slogans.

Meanwhile, Downing Street has confirmed May will bring up the topic of climate change when she meets Trump.

The announcement came after 250 academics sent May a letter pleading with her to "robustly challenge" him on the topic, and a government source told the BBC "the prime minister has raised climate change with the president before and will do so again during his visit".

The letter was organized by Bob Ward of the London School of Economics, who said he took heart from the response it had received.

"The prime minister can robustly challenge President Trump about his inaction on climate change with the knowledge that she has the extremely strong support of all the experts who signed the letter," he said.

"We all stand behind her on this issue. I hope she will raise the issue with him in public, as well as privately, so that Americans can see how much the president's climate change denial is damaging the international standing of the United States.

"It would be a tremendous legacy for Theresa May if she can shift Mr Trump from his position of stubborn denial of the risks of climate change."

julian@mail.chiandailyuk.com

(China Daily 06/04/2019 page12)