Trump Begins UK Visit by Insulting People, Endorsing Far-right

The United States President Donald Trump arrived in the United Kingdom for a delayed state visit and even before landing, he insulted London Mayor Sadiq Khan by calling him “a stone cold loser" while misspelling his name. He also endorsed Boris Johnson for the position of the Prime Minister which did not sit well with many.

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Trump and his wife, Melania, were greeted by the 93-year-old monarch, Queen Elizabeth, at Buckingham Palace at the start of a three-day state visit.

They were received at the airport by Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary and one of the contenders to be Prime Minister Theresa May’s successor.

The U.S. president, before his visit, publicly backed Boris Johnson as the next prime minister after May steps down on June 7. “I think Boris would do a very good job. I think he would be excellent,” he said.

Mel Stride, the newly appointed Commons leader said that Trump is entitled to his opinion but he would not be picking the next prime minister of the country. “That process, as you know, will be one involving the parliamentary party and then the membership itself,” Stride said.

The president, who has regularly criticized May's Brexit tactics, said Britain must leave the bloc on the due date of Oct. 31 with or without a deal and praised a more radical Brexit-supporting potential successor as British leader.

The Labour Party have boycotted Trump’s visit. Tens of Thousands of protesters are also expected to demonstrate against the president’s visit.

Jeremy Corbyn, the leader of the Labour Party scolded Trump for getting involved in British politics.

At the airport, Trump complained to Hunt about Khan. Hunt told BBC that Trump “mentioned to me some of his very strong views about the mayor of London. What he said to me was consistent with what was in his tweet.”

Khan’s spokesman said that these kinds of  “childish insult” should be “beneath the president of the United States.”

Khan has attracted the ire of the U.S. president for comparing himself to “the fascists of the 20th century” in an opinion piece.

“President Donald Trump is just one of the most egregious examples of a growing global threat. The far right is on the rise around the world, threatening our hard-won rights and freedoms and the values that have defined our liberal, democratic societies for more than 70 years,” Khan wrote.

He compared Trump with Viktor Orbán in Hungary, Matteo Salvini in Italy, Marine Le Pen in France and Nigel Farage in the U.K. who are “using the same divisive tropes of the fascists of the 20th century to garner support, but with new sinister methods to deliver their message.”

Khan also wrote that Britain should not be rolling out the red carpet for the U.S. president.

Apart from these, Trump also called for arch-Brexiteer Nigel Farage, a scourge of May's ruling Conservative Party, to conduct talks with the EU.

At a meeting with Theresa May, Trump will also warn Britain that security cooperation, a cornerstone of the western intelligence network, could be hurt if London allows China's Huawei a role in building parts of the 5G network, the next generation of cellular technology.

The Trump administration has told allies not to use its 5G technology and equipment because of fears it would allow China to spy on sensitive communications and data. Huawei denies the allegations.

While Monday is dominated by pageantry, the second day of Trump's trip will focus on politics, including breakfast with business leaders, talks with May in 10 Downing Street, a news conference and a dinner at the U.S. ambassador's residence.