Opponents of President Trump are planning to flood London with more than a quarter-million protesters when the U.S. president makes his first state visit to the U.K., amid uncertainty about whether he will be invited to address Parliament.
Buckingham Palace announced on Tuesday that Trump and the first lady had accepted an invitation from Queen Elizabeth II for a three-day visit in early June.
The much-delayed trip comes two years after Prime Minister Theresa May extended an invitation, provoking a backlash among Britons opposed to Trump’s travel ban and other policies.
The on-again, off-again visit is also dividing British politicians as they grapple with how to protect the “special relationship” while preparing to leave the European Union.
Although the trip is expected to include gun salutes, lunch with the Queen, and a state banquet, it is still not clear whether Trump will be afforded the usual honor of addressing the Parliament — as former President Barack Obama did in 2011.
Officials are still working on the final itinerary.
A spokeswoman for John Bercow, speaker of the House of Commons, has said any request for Trump to address both Houses of Parliament would be “considered in the usual way” but did not say whether any such request had been received.
But Bercow has angered Trump supporters by refusing to extend the traditional invitation, saying instead that the occasion was an “earned honor” rather than a right.
Sebastian Gorka, the British-born former deputy assistant to Trump, accused Bercow of elitism.
“The Crown is affording a state visit to the President of the United States,” he said. “The Speaker’s actions are redolent of the elitism that led to Brexit and which continues to betray the will of the people while undermining the special relationship.”
British ministers also criticized the stance.
Writing in the Daily Telegraph last week, Tobias Ellwood, British veterans’ minister, said: “The special relationship matters. It is greater than any one individual, however controversial. So we should leverage the US President’s state visit — including the opportunity to formally address Parliament.”
Former President Ronald Reagan, China’s President Xi Jinping, and Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, have all been afforded the honor.
The controversy comes even though British voters are the most approving of Trump in key European Union nations. The country’s populist Brexit movement is credited with propelling his approval ratings to 28 percent, according to the latest Pew survey, compared with 10 percent in Germany, 9 percent in France and 7 percent in Spain.
Even so, British police are preparing for mass protests.
Last year, an estimated 250,000 protesters took to the streets of London when Trump made a “non-state” visit.
He largely avoided the capital during a trip that was downgraded to a working visit.
This time, organizers hope their protests will dwarf last year’s.
Shaista Aziz, from the Stop Trump Coalition, said: “This demonstration isn’t just about Trump as one man. He is a symbol of the new far right, a politics of Islamophobia and anti-Semitism, of war and conflict, and walls and fences that are growing around the world.”
Campaigners called for the return of the “Baby Trump” blimp that flew above protests last year.
Sabby Dhalu from Stand Up to Trump, said: “A formal state visit to Britain in June must be met with widespread opposition. All those that value peace and hope for a better world for the many must take to the streets and say clearly that Donald Trump is not welcome here!”
