US President, Donald Trump has cancelled his upcoming visit to the United Kingdom because of a deal to move the American embassy. The building has been moved from Mayfair to Nine Elms in London and will undergo a ribbon cutting ceremony next month.
Mr Trump who was due to be the man with the scissors pulled out because he is upset about the location change.
Writing on Twitter, Trump said: “Reason I cancelled my trip to London is that I am not a big fan of the Obama Administration having sold perhaps the best located and finest embassy in London for “peanuts,” only to build a new one in an off location for 1.2 billion dollars.
“Bad deal. “Wanted me to cut ribbon-NO!”
Ironically, the decision to move the embassy was done in 2009 when George W. Bush was still President, not Barack Obama.
The Independent reports that another reason behind Trump’s cancelled visit is a lack of ‘bells and whistles’ and a meeting with the Queen.
It’s no secret that if the President did come to the UK, there would be protestors at each engagement and MPs have heavily encouraged he not be able to address Parliament. He was invited to come to Britain by Prime Minister Theresa May soon after his inauguration.
Relations between Trump and May have been rocky to say the least.
The pair met when the British PM visited the US last year. May criticised the US leader when he retweeted three anti-Muslim videos from far-right group Britain First, telling reporters: “I am very clear that retweeting from Britain First was the wrong thing to do.”
Not letting her have the last word, Trump hit back on Twitter, saying: “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!”
Ironically, the pair clashed again when Trump announced the US embassy in Israel would officially move from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. May described the move as ‘unhelpful in terms of prospects for peace in the region’.
It’s reported Trump will be sending Secretary of State Rex Tillerson instead to cut the ribbon on the £750 million building.
Since his inauguration, the US President has visited Saudi Arabia, France, Israel, Poland, Germany, Japan, South Korea and China.
No other date has been set for Trump to visit Britain, however, he and May might bump into each other at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland later this month.
(BBC)
