The Yorkshire Post says: Donald Trump’s state visit will expose UK divisions

Donald Trump will be coming to the UK in June. Picture: PADonald Trump will be coming to the UK in June. Picture: PA
Donald Trump will be coming to the UK in June. Picture: PA
The state visit of US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania has been on the cards for more than two years since Prime Minister Theresa May’s invitation just days into his presidency – and its now-confirmed timing appears significant in more ways than one.

The visit, from June 3 to 5, coincides with a ceremony in Portsmouth to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Second World War D-Day landings, which the President and First Lady will both attend, along with representatives and veterans from other Allied nations.

Co-operation was key to those 1944 landings, which paved the way to the liberation of Europe, and Mrs May has suggested it remains pivotal today, claiming the state visit will also be a chance for the UK and US to strengthen their “already close relationship” and discuss how to build on that in the years to come – a nod, almost certainly, to life after the UK’s planned departure from the European Union.

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However, given the divisiveness of Mr Trump’s presidency to date, his upcoming arrival is already splitting opinion on home soil. Campaigners have promised huge protests in response to the visit, while Labour’s Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry has criticised the decision to award the President a state visit, claiming he has “systematically assaulted all the shared values that unite our two countries”.

But whatever people’s opinions of Mr Trump, the importance of aiding relations between Britain and her closest ally cannot to be overlooked, for vital matters of trade, security and defence require continued diplomacy and dialogue.

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