Cue the Mission Impossible music …
We have news out of the UK that coming off the G20 summit in Germany, President Trump may try to sneak into the UK for an unannounced quick meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May, hoping that the lack of any advanced notice will foil the plans of any Britains who might want to make fun of him.
Now, to be candid, the sourcing for this story is somewhat uncertain. The clearest report is from one of the UK tabloids, The Daily Express. Which is to say, it might be true or it might not. But other more reliable news outlets make it seem clear that the UK government was preparing for a possible snap visit. They didn’t know one way or another. Indeed when May’s spokesman was asked about a potential snap visit this morning, he gave a rather non-committal answer. “I am not aware of any plans for the president to visit the UK in the next few weeks,” her spokesman told reporters.
Remember, May invited Trump for a state visit to the UK on her visit to Washington shortly after President Trump’s inauguration. Trump even pressed for a ride with the Queen in her ceremonial golden carriage as part of his excursion. But Trump reportedly got cold feet after it became clear that almost everyone in Britain hates him and planned to stage massive protests during his time in the country. Trump told May, in a widely reported phone call, that he’d consider coming when the British people wanted him.
Now, here’s the thing about this story. What is confirmed is almost the most surprising part in my mind. I was not aware that after the G20 summit in Hamburg, Trump was planning a possible visit to the UK, just not to London. According to The Guardian and other legit British publications, British officials were given advanced notice that Trump might visit his golf course in Turnberry, Scotland, which – aspirations of Scottish nationalists aside – is very much part of the United Kingdom. It is hard to know what is bizarre and what is normal with President Trump. But it certainly seems less than appropriate that a US President would visit the United States’ top global ally, the United Kingdom, and only visit his golf resort rather than meeting the country’s leaders.
Needless to say, his golf resorts would make it much easier to keep all protestors and citizen riff-raff at a distance.
So what on earth is happening?
The UK papers are full of stories this morning about various civil society groups making preparations for snap protests on the days in questions, if Trump does attempt to sneak into London with only a few hours notice. And that may have been the final straw. After these reports, just in last couple hours, Sean Spicer told The Financial Times that President Trump will not be visiting the UK anytime during his European trip. “While he looks forward to visiting the UK, it will not be in the next two weeks.”
