Queen Elizabeth contradicted London Mayor Sadiq Khan by "refusing to retract" an invitation to Donald Trump to visit the UK.
Queen Elizabeth contradicted London Mayor Sadiq Khan by "refusing to retract" an invitation to Donald Trump to visit the UK.
On 7 June 2017, the Patriot BeaconÂ reported that Queen Elizabeth II had publicly contradictedÂ London mayor Sadiq Khan by â€œrefusingâ€ to retract anÂ offerÂ of an official state visit to President Donald Trump after Khan had suggested calling itÂ off: < After the terrorist attack in the United Kingdom over the weekend, Londonâ€™s Mayor Sadiq Khan called for Donald Trumpâ€™s upcoming trip to his city to be cancelled based on what he said was the American presidentâ€™s â€œalarmistâ€ reaction to the attack. Days later, however, Queen Elizabeth shut Khan down in a big way. Breitbart reported that the Queen refused to retract her invitation for Trump to meet with her at Buckingham Palace, ruining Khanâ€™s plans to stop Trump from traveling to London. â€œ[The president] appreciates Her Majestyâ€™s gracious invitation,â€ White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said when asked if Trump would still meet with the Queen. This sends a huge message to Khan, as it shows that the Queen has no intention of submitting to him and the agenda he is inflicting the city of London. > A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace confirmed toÂ us that a formal invitation to visit the UK had not been extended to Donald Trump by Britainâ€™sÂ royal family; Sean Spicer appears to be mistaken in referring to â€œHer Majestyâ€™s gracious invitation.â€ Queen Elizabeth has not refused to retract her invitation, because she never formally extended one.Â Nor has she made aÂ public statement on the matter, either before or after Sadiq Khan called for Trumpâ€™s official visit to be cancelled. The Queen never intervenes in political disputes in any case, and her silence in the two days following Khanâ€™s remarks is entirely in keeping with normal practice and should not be interpreted as meaningful in any way.Â In January 2017, UK Prime Minister Theresa May didÂ extend an invitation to the US PresidentÂ to visit, but itâ€™s unclear whether this willÂ be a state visit or official visit. In the UK, aÂ state visit is one where the head of state (Queen Elizabeth) formally hosts a foreign dignitary (in this case, Donald Trump). An official visit means the foreign dignitary is invited to visit the UK, but is not formally hosted by the Queen. The episode has proven controversial, with one experienced former diplomat, Peter Ricketts, writing at the time that Mayâ€™s invitation had put the Queen in a â€œvery difficult position.â€ In an interview with Channel 4 News on 5 June 2017, Londonâ€™s mayor was asked if he thought Trumpâ€™s state visit should be called off:Â < Well, my position remains the same â€“ I donâ€™t think we should be rolling out the red carpet to the President of the USA in the circumstances where his policies go against everything we stand for.Â Â > < â€œHis policies go against everything we stand for.â€ Mayor of London @SadiqKhan criticises @realDonaldTrumpâ€˜s response to the London attack. pic.twitter.com/X4gN4AN2ES â€” Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) June 6, 2017 > Apart from the fact that the Queen has not â€œrefused to retractâ€ her invitation to Trump (because she has not extended such an invitation), there are a couple of other inaccuracies inÂ the Patriot Beacon article. Â For example, it cites the conservative web site Breitbart as reportingÂ â€œthat the Queen refused to retract her invitation for Trump to meet with her at Buckingham Palace.â€ The 6 June 2017Â articleÂ does not say that; instead, it simply quotes White House Press Secretary Sean Spicerâ€™s response to a question on Sadiq Khanâ€™s call for a cancellation: < Press Secretary Sean Spicer was asked at the daily White House press briefing on Tuesday about London Mayor Sadiq Khanâ€™s saying that President Donald Trumpâ€™s visit to the UK should be cancelled after the president criticized the mayorâ€™s remarks about the terror threat there. Khan said there was â€œno reason to be alarmedâ€ by an increased police presence in London following yet another terror attack on Saturday on the London Bridge.Â â€œ[The president] appreciates Her Majestyâ€™s gracious invitation,â€ Spicer responded, referring to the invitation extended to Trump by Queen Elizabeth. > TheÂ BreitbartÂ article also does not describe Queen Elizabeth as refusing to retract her invitation or taking any action (or conspicuous inaction) following Sadiq Khanâ€™s remarks the day before. Â The Patriot Beacon article claims that Khan had called for Trumpâ€™s visit to be cancelled on the basis of Trumpâ€™s â€œalarmistâ€ response to the London Bridge attack. Khan never described Trumpâ€™s response as alarmist, butÂ said instead that hisÂ call for the visit to be cancelled was because Trumpâ€™s policies â€œgo against everything we stand forâ€. KhanÂ had already opposed an official visit by Trump to the UK in response to the US Presidentâ€™s proposed immigration ban, and long before the June 2017 terrorist attack. In an op-ed for the London Evening Standard on 30 January 2017, the mayor wrote: < The Prime Minister must be clear with President Trump that his actions are unacceptable for a liberal, open democracy. And we should not be seen to be endorsing them. That is why we must now rescind the offer of a full state visit for President Trump â€” until this ban is lifted. I donâ€™t believe the people of London will support rolling out the red carpet until this happens. >
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