by Jared Rouse
British Prime Minister Theresa May invited President Trump to make a state visit to the United Kingdom just one week after his inauguration. Since then, some members of Parliament have objected to President Trump’s visit and believe he should not be allowed to address Parliament directly.
The speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, said that he was strongly opposed to Trump’s visit. He is calling for a cancellation of the visit, which goes directly against the Prime Minister’s desire to rekindle the strong relationship between the U.K. and the U.S. John Bercow said “being invited to address Parliament was not an automatic right but an earned honor.”
What are his reasons for opposing a visit by Trump to Parliament?
While speaking to the House of Commons, Bercow said, “Before the imposition of the migrant ban, I would myself have been strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall.”
He went on to say that after the migrant ban, he is even more opposed to Trump’s visit.
Then Bercow said, “However, as far as this place is concerned, I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and to sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons.”
Since then, over two million people in the U.K. have signed a petition to cancel Trump’s visit.
Firstly, why does the Speaker of the House of Commons care about a temporary ban from seven Middle Eastern nations to the U.S.? The executive order Trump signed only lasts for 90 days and was designed to give the U.S. time to review its vetting system. The ban was put in place to protect the interests of U.S. national security. Why is that such a bad thing? It was never meant to be forever.
Secondly, in what way has President Trump been racist? It’s not his fault that racist groups decided to support him once he ran for office.
In fact, he even denounced those groups publicly.
As far as the sexist claim? Trump is once again being judged for something he said 11 years ago. Granted, it was a vile thing to say and went far beyond normal locker room talk, but he said those things long before he knew he would be running for president.
Frankly, people change. I would hate to be judged today for what I said or how I acted 11 years ago. I was a completely different person back then, and I’m sure he was too. At least I hope so.
Does the speaker of the House of Commons really want to damage relations with the U.S. when the Prime Minister is trying to solidify them? We have all seen how Trump reacts to any kind of criticism. He will likely cancel the trip himself until he receives some sort of apology.
