There’s no denying Trump’s true nature any more. But what will it take to stop another visit to the UK? | Zoe Williams
The US president appals both leftwingers and rightwingers. Can they really keep him away with protests and petitions?A petition to rescind Donald Trump’s invitation for a second state visit to the UK was launched by the Stop Trump Coalition on Friday and had nearly 100,000 signatures by Monday. Meanwhile, another petition, started by the online campaign group 38Degrees, was nudging towards 150,000, while the Mail on Sunday was demanding exactly the same thing. Robert De Niro was pithier at the Oscars (“Fuck Trump!”), as he had been at the Tony awards in 2018, but finding allies in Hollywood has never been that difficult.The Stop Trump Coalition has been around since his first term, protesting against his Muslim travel ban and the insult to feminism that they felt his ascent to high office represented. Back then, people on the left argued a lot about purpose and efficacy, while people on the right were busy doing whatever they were doing between 2016 and 2020. Oh yeah, they were trashing the UK’s trade relationships with the EU and then, when it all went wrong, blaming the remainers for not giving in fast enough.Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnistDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
The US president appals both leftwingers and rightwingers. Can they really keep him away with protests and petitions?
A petition to rescind Donald Trump’s invitation for a second state visit to the UK was launched by the Stop Trump Coalition on Friday and had nearly 100,000 signatures by Monday. Meanwhile, another petition, started by the online campaign group 38Degrees, was nudging towards 150,000, while the Mail on Sunday was demanding exactly the same thing. Robert De Niro was pithier at the Oscars (“Fuck Trump!”), as he had been at the Tony awards in 2018, but finding allies in Hollywood has never been that difficult.
The Stop Trump Coalition has been around since his first term, protesting against his Muslim travel ban and the insult to feminism that they felt his ascent to high office represented. Back then, people on the left argued a lot about purpose and efficacy, while people on the right were busy doing whatever they were doing between 2016 and 2020. Oh yeah, they were trashing the UK’s trade relationships with the EU and then, when it all went wrong, blaming the remainers for not giving in fast enough.
Zoe Williams is a Guardian columnist
Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...
