DONALD Trump should skip London during his upcoming visit to the UK and come to Scotland instead, a group of right-wing supporters have said.
They insisted Scotland would offer the US President a chance to “speak directly to ordinary British people and witness the true level of support that exists for you”.
The group raised concerns over the level of security required in London in the wake of terrorist attacks, as well as dubbing it the out-of-touch “heart of the political and media establishment”.
The plea comes in a letter signed by the chairman of The Bow Group – the oldest conservative think tank in the UK – as well as the director of the Eurosceptic Bruges Group and the chief executive of the The Freedom Association, a libertarian pressure group.
It is also signed by the chairman of Republican Overseas Scotland, Drew Liquerman, the CEO of the think tank Parliament Street, Patrick Sullivan, and Dr Jon Robert Stanley, a former UKIP candidate.
Addressing the President, they write: “There are many people in Britain who strongly support your leadership, admire the transformative effect you have had on the US economy, and respect your position as the democratically-elected Head of State of the United States of America.
“Many citizens of the UK value the special and long-standing relationship between our two great countries and would like to see it continue to grow, especially in a post-Brexit world.
“The movements to prevent you from coming to the UK have a similar genesis to the same vocal protesters in the US. It is a shame upon Britain that this level of partisanship, including the media bias that exploits it, is a part of our national conversation, but it does not represent the opinion of the majority of the British people.”
The letter insists there is a “large majority of support” for greater trade ties between the US and Britain – and praises the “extraordinary nature of this enduring and time-honoured relationship”.
It adds: “The heart of the political and media establishment in Britain is based in London, and similar to Washington and New York, it is often far out of touch with ordinary people on the street.
“London has experienced several terrorist atrocities recently, and it is unlikely that it would be possible for you to make a state visit to the city without a level of security that would effectively place it at a stand-still.
“With this in mind, and as supporters of your presidency, we feel that London would not be the best location for your visit, and we wish to recommend an alternative.
“We note that your most recent visit to the United Kingdom was to Scotland, which passed without incident. Your ancestral homeland of Scotland represents a powerful bond between you and Britain, and given the nature of the climate in London, it is a superior destination.
“As you know, the Royal Estate of Balmoral Castle sits in Scotland’s Cairgorms [sic] National Park, thus allowing you to make a full state visit as the guest of Her Majesty the Queen.
“Scotland and the north of England also offer a variety of locations where you would be able to speak directly to ordinary British people and witness the true level of support that exists for you and the special relationship between the US and the UK.”
The letter concludes: “Regardless of hectoring from the media and the declining political establishment, we look forward to you visit, as well as the completion of a trade deal, further boosting both of our economies and further cementing the great bond between our two nations for decades to come.”
Mr Trump is reported to be due to make his first official visit to Britain this summer.
However, it is understood it will not be a full state visit with an official banquet at Buckingham Palace.
Critics lampooned the letter, branding it “sycophantic and grovelling”.
Patrick Harvie, co-convener of the Scottish Green Party, said the president should be met in Scotland with a level protest “not seen since the Iraq War”.
He added: “If this group of Tories think coming to Scotland will avoid the level of opposition Trump would receive in London, they frankly misunderstand Scotland’s long history of opposing racism, sexism and bigotry.”
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel