Seems like there are few places that Donald Trump can go these days without incurring the wrath of levelheaded, sane people who oppose all the horrible things he stands for. Kudos to the United Kingdom, the latest place to unwelcome America’s liar-in-chief, as its people attempt to stand up to Trump in a bigly way.
On Monday, the British Parliament debates whether or not to bestow official state honors to Trump when he visits sometime this year after a petition against his visit to the UK received nearly 2 million signatures. The petition has already been rejected by Prime Minister Theresa May’s government.
Members of Parliament will spend up to three hours discussing a petition calling for the visit to be downgraded because of Trump's "well-documented misogyny and vulgarity." [...]
While the debate is largely symbolic, it will expose the fault lines caused by the decision of the British government to award Trump a state visit so early in his term of office.
The Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, faced calls for his resignation from some MPs after he said he was "strongly opposed" to letting Trump address lawmakers during his visit because of Parliament's "opposition to racism and sexism."
There is also a rival petition in favor of Trump’s state visit being discussed, which received significantly less signatures at 310,000. The mayor of London has also joined the anti-Trump resistance, who supports the petition to deny Trump an official visit based on the Muslim ban and his stances on immigration.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan is backing the petitioners. Trump’s immigration policies, Khan said, are “cruel.” The mayor cited Trump’s “ban on people from seven Muslim-majorities countries” as a particular outrage.
Unfortunately, downgrading Trump’s visit wouldn’t altogether ban him from entering the country. It would simply mean that he would not be received as a state official—which would be quite effective in delivering a huge blow to his massive, fragile ego.
If Trump’s visit is downgraded, it does not appear that the British government will treat Mr. Trump as Trump wishes to treat Muslims — that is, they will allow Trump to enter their country. The American president would be denied certain honors, however, such as a stay at Buckingham Palace.
Lyndon B. Johnson and George W. Bush were widely known as two of the most hated American presidents around the world. And only a month in, Donald Trump is already poised to top them. How fitting since we know how obsessed he is with winning. Way to win big, Donald!