Former British Prime Minister and patrician guardian of post-WWII UK 'One Nation' politics, Harold MacMillan, once quipped to always be alert for 'events, dear boy, events.' Who could have foreseen the events of Donald Trump's disastrous first visit as President of the United States to the United Kingdom. It is hard to overstate how important these visits are in the continuum of the US-UK 'special relationship', how damaging Trump's appalling visit was to the health of the Anglo-American alliance, and what a disgrace and embarrassment Trump was as Head of State for America on British soil. Firstly, it should be noted that this was the longest wait in sometime for a newly elected American President to visit the United States so-called number one ally in Europe and around the world. Almost 18 months have past since Trump took the oath of office before setting foot in the UK. That in itself is revealing of the true state of relations between Washington DC and London and the contempt the British Establishment holds Trump in. Then there was the hilarious fact that despite the British Prime Minister Theresa May embarrassingly falling over herself in the wake of Trump's election to ingratiate herself with him by issuing (against convention and indeed proper State/Royal diplomatic protocol) a 'State Invitation' for Trump to come to the UK, the whole enterprise had to be downgraded from a 'State' visit to a 'Working' visit which is an entirely different beast.
One of the more galling aspects of the amateurish and pathetic way 10 Downing Street and May's team have handled British foreign policy, diplomacy and strategic international affairs since assuming power has been the total lack of regard for proper British State diplomatic protocol. The original State Invitation should have been signed off on and issued by Buckingham Palace and not 10 Downing Street in close consultation with the Foreign Office and Her Majesty's Diplomatic Service. This never occurred much to the anger and disgust of Buckingham Palace which would never have consented to an invitation for a State Visit for someone like Trump and so soon. Relations between Buckingham Palace and 10 Downing Street, already strained by Theresa May's dirty deal with the DUP, have crashed to rock bottom, and May and her Downing Street team are held in total disdain by Buckingham Palace for inflicting upon the Queen the ordeal of having to meet with Trump when it was not required for a 'Working' visit. Trump is loathed by the British Royal Family for many reasons, hence the absence of all members of the Royal Family such as Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, the Duke of Edinburgh and everyone else, apart from the dutifully stoic and amazing Queen Elizabeth II who had no choice as Head of State but to briefly host Trump thanks to the crass constitutional slight of hand of Theresa May and Downing Street.
The British Prime Minister Theresa May must herself be held accountable for the national humiliation that Trump's visit was. It was not only personally humiliating to May herself, it made Britain in the eyes of the world look like nothing more than a completely subservient lap dog of Trump and the United States and desperate for anything that the United States under Trump is willing to give it. Whether Trump was aware of the damage his behaviour was doing while in Britain to the strength of the US-UK 'special relationship' is beside the point. A great deal of damage it did. It was the most vulgar display from the disgrace of an American President that is Donald Trump. Trump trampled over all kinds of political and Royal protocol. To intervene so bluntly and directly in the internal political affairs of the UK with his outrageous interview with The Sun newspaper was atrocious. It was a wake up call to the British that far from being America's closest ally, the White House views Britain as nothing more than a useful stooge…or useful idiot…and a satellite controlled by Washington DC to kicked around. To kick Britain hard in the teeth when the country is on the verge of a Brexit catastrophe by stating that because the British Prime Minister Theresa May did not obey his instructions, there would be no US-UK Trade Deal, was quite something. Trump not only kicked Britain when she is down and badly in need of a Brexit lifeline, he also roundly humiliated Theresa May, despite her lavish and totally unjustified hospitality, and made quite clear how little he thinks of May and of the UK. So long as Trump is President and May is Prime Minister there will be no post-Brexit UK-US Trade Agreement. Then his gaudy and fraudulent Press Conference with the Prime Minister was stomach churning with his open backtracking and casual lying.
Trump not only shamed May and made her look so weak, feeble and desperate but she allowed this to happen to herself which makes her even more of a vilified and pathetic Prime Minister lacking in real backbone and strategic political policy intellect. It was nauseating to see Trump, who had just trashed and back stabbed May the night before with his Sun interview after being hosted to high heaven in Churchill's birth home, grab May by the hand and arm and almost pull her along with him. Yet, she let him do it which was sickening and demonstrated what a spineless and gutless light weight leader she really is. From watching how she threw herself at Trump and the pounding Trump gave her politically one begins to wonder if Theresa May has a sadomasochistic tendency? Whatever this deranged and obsequious woman's psychology is, it was embarrassing for Britons to watch their Prime Minister being treated as nothing more than a piece of dirt to be disposed of easily. The British press went wild with justified anger at the contemptuous treatment the President of the United States had meted out for the UK, America's supposed number one ally.
Then there was the most repellent act of all in the sorry Trump 'National Lampoons' British visit saga. It was quite clear when Trump arrived at Windsor Castle Her Majesty The Queen wanted nothing to do with this visit, wanted to be elsewhere and couldn't stand this creature Trump being any where near her. The Queen, who is magnificent at the age of 92 and still as strong and brilliant as ever, handled herself in this most difficult and nauseating of situations perfectly and managed to do what Theresa May did not and what the UK had been crying out for, by snubbing Trump and indicating her total disdain for him. The Queen barely made eye contact with him and only chatted with him for ten seconds before motioning him into position for the American national anthem. The Queen made sure to stand as far away from Trump as possible without crashing into the First Lady Melania Trump. The physical gap between Her Majesty and Trump spoke volumes. All of Trump's hopes and dreams of meeting the Queen of England and making a good first impression and being embraced by the ultimate paragon of the British Establishment were dashed in an instant and his professions of adoration of the Queen and that of his late mother must have jarred deeply in his massively and wildly overinflated fragile ego. One suspects Trump may need therapy for the rest of his life after the embarrassment he made of himself in front of Her Majesty The Queen for all the world to see.
One could tell Trump knew that the Queen couldn't stand him and if it had been anyone else he would have tried to chastise them and humiliate them. In fact he almost nearly did. He nearly knocked the Queen over. He rushed ahead of her. He attempted to outpace her. He showed no respect or awareness at all for the proper procedures of meeting The Queen and inspecting the Coldstream Guards. It was the most disgusting, vulgar, infuriating display from a peasant like Trump and made many Britons blood boil at the sight of him charging ahead so rudely in front of Her Majesty, trying to outpace her and almost knocking into her and knocking her over. It was an utterly repulsive display from the President of the United States and it will not be forgotten in Britain by the powers that be for a very, very long time. The Prime Minister Theresa May herself must be held accountable for this most egregious event and for subjecting Her Majesty The Queen to a swine like Trump especially with his record of sexual violence towards women and thuggish behaviour.
The whole trip stank and will go down in history as the most catastrophic visit of any American President to Britain, ever. It is hard to recall a more cataclysmic and obnoxious visit to Britain by an American President in the history of Anglo-American relations and it shamed not only Theresa May but also Trump and all of Trump's voters and supporters. The only people who know speak of a US-UK 'special relationship' are the two deluded dumb and dumber hand holders May and Trump. The rest of the political class, diplomatic Establishment and public in the UK now know full well that there is no such 'special relationship' and that America, especially while under the control of Trump, is not Britain's number one ally. A severe political price will have to be paid by Theresa May for allowing this most offensive and objectionable circus act to have been conducted on British soil involving (against Buckingham Palace's wishes) Her Majesty The Queen, not to mention the cost to the British taxpayer in terms of security and the desecration of using Churchill's birth home and Her Majesty The Queen in such a shameful manner. Theresa May is completely unhinged in putting on this grotesque display and getting a kicking in the teeth for it from the man she did it for while Trump is what everyone with half a brain already knew – nothing more than a cheap, tacky, vile con artist gangster thug – who is an abomination of an American President.