London, where, as we already mentioned, Julian Assange spent the last seven years, is meeting Donald Trump. It's meeting him with protests. The U.S. president arrived in the UK this morning and immediately came across a cool reception. There was neither a red carpet at the airport nor the traditional drive through the streets of the British capital. Instead of it, there was an inflatable doll of Trump in the sky over London. And with every minute, the list of the country's top officials who refused to meet with the guest from Washington is growing.
Our correspondent in the UK, Alexander Khabarov, is reporting from London on why it's happening so.
In London, Trump is threatened with mass protests, and one of them has already begun next to Buckingham Palace. In the morning, Trump was met by British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt. Prime Minister Theresa May didn't come to the airport. All of the politics are postponed for tomorrow. Today is the first and most ceremonial day of the visit.
Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs: “We'll arrange a fantastic show for Mr. Trump this week because America is our closest ally.”
All attention is now focused on the details, and they started to reveal very soon. At the airport, Trump's wife, Melania, literally pulled her hand out of the president's palm, as if confirming rumors about their complicated relationship. The former model flew to London wearing a dress decorated with the sights of London. So, if she wishes, she can now put checkmarks on separate pictures. Her husband and she visited Westminster Abbey today and laid a wreath at the tomb of the Unknown Soldier.
Trump was invited to the UK to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Allied landings in Normandy. The traditional format of pompous state visits underwent changes this time. There was no ceremonial travel in motorcades. Trump traveled to Buckingham Palace by helicopter. Secondly, he and Melania won't spend the night there. One wing is ostensibly under repairs, and there wasn't any suitable suite for the U.S. president. Almost the entire Trump family is gathered in London now, except for the youngest son. In the fashionable hotel Corinthia, the whole floor and a separate elevator were booked for them.
The queen acted as a personal guide today. She showed the Trumps her collection of historical artifacts. There are documents showing the friendly relationship between the royal family and the management of the U.S. among them.
But some British politicians decided to ignore the banquet in honor of Trump at Buckingham Palace. The leaders of the two biggest opposition parties, the Labor Party and the Liberal Democrats, already refused to attend the dinner party. Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow also won't attend it. He already ensured that Donald Trump won't speak before the British Parliament during his visit. Meghan Markle, Prince Harry's wife and an American, refused to meet the U.S. president.
The rubber baby Trump will appear in the sky over London tomorrow again. They flew it two years ago. Last night, the image of the doll was projected onto the famous White Cliffs of Dover. The Sky News channel used inflatable Trump to promote the upcoming coverage of the visit.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan supported the protesters. He claimed that they shouldn't welcome the current U.S. president with red carpets. Trump made it worth his while. He responded to his offender on Twitter.
“He is a stone cold loser who should focus on crime in London, not me. Kahn reminds me very much of our very dumb and incompetent Mayor of NYC, de Blasio, only half his height.”
Protesters made another Trump doll. They depicted him sitting on a gold toilet with a phone in his hands. The center of London will be paralyzed tomorrow if 250,000 protesters take to the streets, as promised. To protect Donald Trump, the British and American intelligence agencies blocked almost half of the Regent’s Park by putting a high fence around a huge territory around the residence of the U.S. ambassador where he temporarily stayed. In addition to it, Trump travels mainly by helicopter and only rarely in a well-protected car. So he may not pay attention to the disgruntled, unless, of course, he wishes to watch TV.
Alexander Khabarov, Ilya Mordyukov for Vesti from London.
