The Queen invited Donald Trump over for a state visit where he could meet her, joking that she could legally kill the guy. Since then, a petition has done the rounds in the UK and drummed up a whopping 1.85 million signatures to make sure the visit gets cancelled. That’s more than enough to get the attention of Parliament (not to mention Commons Speaker John Bercow’s backlash against the President’s state visit that sent shockwaves around the country, or at least the media), and now MPs are debating whether or not the visit should go ahead. Two in particular (Tulip Siddiq, whose name should give away her position on Trump immediately, and Glyn Davies) have voiced their opinions very strongly in a Guardian column.
Siddiq is strongly opposed to Trump’s state visit
Siddiq’s opinion is that the Queen’s invitation to Trump to have him over on our side of the water for a state visit was “premature,” and said Trump does not deserve a state visit and that his politics and allowing him to come over here in an official capacity is not in “keeping with British values.” She said that world leaders have to “earn” the right to a state visit, and that the President of the United States should not be offered one purely because he is the President of the United States, “as par for the course.”
Siddiq said that “though it may seem like an eternity,” Trump has been the President for “barely a month.” She summed up his actions taken during that time as moving towards “economic protectionism” (restricting trade between countries; America first!), having a series of rants at the press and most recently calling them “the enemy of the American people,” a failed attempt to “ban millions of Muslims” from stepping foot on US soil, and “little else.”
Siddiq addressed the right-wing view on it
The right-wing view of Trump’s state visit, the guys who are saying he should be allowed to come over and also said that Brexit was a great idea, is that cancelling the visit could disrupt the relationship between the US and the UK that has been successful and friendly for a very long time.
Lucky for us, Trump likes Britain, but that’ll all change if the state visit gets canned now. Siddiq says she is “more than supportive of the special relationship” between the United States and Britain. However, she’s worried how this “snap visit” looks, describing its facade as “one-sided,” and like we’re pandering to him, desperate for him to like us, and she even used the word “subservient,” drawing comparisons with Trump as Christian Grey and us as Ana.
She also said that usually PMs give each President time to prove their worth before “rolling out the red carpet” and offering them a state visit. She noted that John F. Kennedy, who was recently ranked the eighth best President by C-SPAN, George Bush Sr., and Richard Nixon (who can be very closely compared with Trump) were never offered a state visit during their Presidencies.
She also noted that Barack Obama and George W. Bush weren’t offered state visits until over two years after being elected.
Siddiq added in a bit about the sure-fire way to voters’ hearts: taxes. Trump’s state visit will be paid for with our tax money, which is a point that is sure to sway some of the public who are currently on the fence or not bothered about it. She said “future generations will judge us” for this “meek” show of support for Trump, accusing him of “bigotry, racism and sexism.” She believes that is a Trump state visit would be Britain remaining “silent in the face of injustice,” and concluded, quite simply: “He must not receive a state visit.”
Glyn Davies has different ideas
Glyn Davies supports Trump’s state visit.
He said that due to UK/US relations, whereby America is “a dependable partner and ally of Britain,” he believes it is “crucial for our security and economic interest” to show Trump we’re on his side. He says that Trump won in a “free and fair election” (although he didn’t, because of Russia) and that we have to “respect democracy.”
