The so-called “special relationship” between Britain and the US was under increasing strain Thursday after President Donald Trump publicly rebuked Prime Minister Theresa May over his dissemination of anti-Muslim propaganda.
In an extraordinary diplomatic clash between two allies, Trump took aim at May on Wednesday, tweeting: “@Theresa_May, don’t focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom. We are doing just fine!”
Trump caused outrage in Britain by retweeting three videos posted by Jayda Fransen, the deputy leader of the far-right UK party Britain First. The inflammatory videos showed people purported to be Muslims carrying out assaults and, in one video, smashing a statue of the Virgin Mary.
Downing Street condemned Trump, staying he was “wrong” to share videos by a group that “seeks to divide communities through their use of hateful narratives which peddle lies and stoke tensions.”
Fransen was found guilty of religiously aggravated harassment in November 2016 after abusing a Muslim woman wearing a hijab.
State visit pressure
After Trump’s attack on May, there was intense pressure on the British government to cancel the US President’s planned state visit to the UK.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said Trump’s latest outburst meant it had become “increasingly clear that any official visit at all from President Trump to Britain would not be welcomed” and called on May to call it off.
“President Trump yesterday used Twitter to promote a vile, extremist group that exists solely to sow division and hatred in our country,” Khan said in a statement.
“Many Brits who love America and Americans will see this as a betrayal of the special relationship between our two countries. It beggars belief that the President of our closest ally doesn’t see that his support of this extremist group actively undermines the values of tolerance and diversity that makes Britain so great.”
Speaking in the House of Commons on Thursday, Home Secretary Amber Rudd did not withdraw the invitation, saying it had been “extended and accepted.” But she appeared to suggest that it was on the back burner, stressing that no dates or arrangements had been made.
May is traveling in the Middle East and is expected to respond during a question-and-answer session following a speech she is due to give later in Amman, Jordan.
Asked at the regular Downing Street press briefing whether the British government had raised the issue of Trump’s tweets with the Trump administration, a spokesman for May said: “Government officials are in touch with the White House regularly, including in the last couple of days. You wouldn’t expect me to get into details of those conversations.”
When asked about Trump’s direct criticism of May and the presence of “Radical Islamic Terrorism” in the UK, the spokesman said: “I wouldn’t take a position on that.”
‘Presidents come and go’
It fell to Justine Greening, a British cabinet minister, to address the controversy in a round of UK media interviews on Thursday morning. Greening said she did not agree with the tweets, but said the relationship between the two countries would survive Trump.
“In the end, our relationship with the United States has a longevity to it that will succeed long after presidents come and go,” she told the BBC.
“I don’t agree with the tweet President Trump has made, but I have to say I also believe it should not distract from the agenda we have domestically and I don’t believe it should detract from the close relationship the UK has had for many, many years and will go on to have with America and the American people.”
Trump’s rebuke to May was originally addressed to the wrong Twitter account, one that had only six followers and has sent only nine tweets.
After deleting his first effort and successfully locating the Twitter handle of the British Prime Minister, he lashed out at Downing Street for its criticism of him retweeting anti-Muslim videos posted online by far-right British group Britain First.
Before Trump’s riposte, another British cabinet minister, Sajid Javid, who is Muslim, took a stronger line. “So POTUS has endorsed the views of a vile, hate-filled racist organisation that hates me and people like me,” he said in a Twitter post. “He is wrong and I refuse to let it go and say nothing.”
The leader of the opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, called the retweets “abhorrent, dangerous and a threat to our society.”
Trump faced a barrage of criticism in the UK Parliament on Thursday that was unprecedented for a US President. MPs variously called him “racist,” “fascist” and “evil.” Labour MP Paul Flynn said Trump should be charged with inciting racial hatred if he enters the UK.
Earlier, Brendan Cox, the husband of murdered British lawmaker Jo Cox — whose killer reportedly shouted “Britain first” as he stabbed her — said Trump had “become a purveyor of hate.” He told CNN’s Anderson Cooper: “This is like the President retweeting the Ku Klux Klan. This is not a mainstream organization and for the President of the United States, our greatest ally as a country, to be retweeting, to be providing a microphone to those voices.”
One of the videos purports to show a young “Muslim migrant” attacking a boy on crutches. The Dutch attorney general’s office, which handled the case, said the incident occurred in May and the suspect was born and raised in the Netherlands. A spokesperson would not comment on the suspect’s religion, saying it was against official policy to share such information.
May in tight spot
May’s attempts to woo the US have left her in a difficult position. With a view to strengthening Anglo-US relations after Brexit, May was the first world leader to meet Trump after his inauguration, flying out to Washington to launch a charm offensive.
But the visit went down badly at home. She was widely criticized for taking Trump’s hand while walking at the White House, while she was also derided for offering him the invitation of a state visit so early in his presidency.
Since then, the decision has come under further criticism as Trump has made a series of interventions in British politics.
In October, he incorrectly suggested there was a link between rising crime rates in the United Kingdom and the “spread of Radical Islamic terror.”
In September, he railed against “loser terrorists” behind the London Tube explosion and suggested that the perpetrator was known to authorities and recruited on the Internet, prompting May and a London police spokesperson to publicly rebuke the President.
And in June, soon after news reports surfaced about the London Bridge terror attacks, he seized on the moment to promote the travel ban.
He has also been involved in a number of Twitter disputes with Khan, the London Mayor.
Some 1.8 million people have already signed a petition urging the government to rescind the invitation May made to Trump just weeks after his inauguration last January.
State visits are typically characterized by pomp and ceremony, and generally include a banquet with the Queen but one by Trump is unlikely to prove popular in Britain.
In June, the White House moved to deny a report that Trump planned to delay his state visit over fears of potential protests and his perceived unpopularity.
