President Trump will travel across the pond on July 13 for his first visit to the United Kingdom since taking office, the White House announced Thursday.
The trip comes more than a year after the president welcomed British Prime Minister Theresa May to Washington for his first bilateral summit with a foreign leader. May had extended an invitation at the time of her visit for Trump to make his way to the U.K., though previous plans for him to do so earlier this year were suddenly canceled at the last minute.
The White House denied the sudden change had anything to do with the threat of Trump encountering widespread protests upon his arrival.
This time, the president is expected to partake in a working visit, foregoing the tradition of attending a state dinner at Buckingham Palace or meeting with the Queen. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders announced the visit on Thursday, declining to say how long Trump would be overseas and whether he would address Parliament during the trip this summer.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has unsuccessfully pushed to ban Trump from visiting America’s closest ally due to his comments about Muslims, refugees, and immigrants.
“I have no doubt that if he does come, there will be some people who want to express their views loudly and peacefully to the president,” Khan told British reporters earlier this week.
