Perhaps alarmed that French President Emmanuel Macron’s bromance with President Trump might displace the U.S.-U.K. special relationship, Britain has just announced that Trump will travel to London on July 13 to meet Prime Minister Theresa May.
What should we expect from the visit? Trump and May will have two key priorities. First, they’ll want to show a unified front in asserting that the special relationship remains the world’s closest alliance. It has been noticed globally that Trump has yet to visit the U.K. more than a year into his presidency, so this visit needed to happen as soon as possible.
July seems like a good time: While relations were strained by Trump’s criticism of Theresa May over her repudiation of his Britain First retweets, Trump has fixed things by sort-of-apologizing for the tweets and pledging his support for Britain.
Yet it’s also notable that this visit will occur following Trump’s meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in June. That likely reflects the U.K. government’s hope that a successful Kim meeting will earn Trump some favor among a British populace otherwise highly skeptical of his leadership.
May and Trump will also hope to be able to make an announcement on next steps towards a post-Brexit U.S.-U.K. trade deal. This is a top British foreign policy priority and, unlike his predecessor, Trump has shown support for reaching a quick deal. To that end, negotiators have been working behind the scenes to set the groundwork.
Ultimately, while it’s noticeable that Trump won’t be staying overnight in London, both governments recognize that this visit needed to happen. And at least July might be a little less overcast than standard London weather!
