It might not be much of a surprise after all.
US President Donald Trump is set to visit the United Kingdom in the next fortnight as part of a European trip that will include the G20 summit in Hamburg and the Bastille Day celebrations in France.
According to the Guardian, Downing Street is braced for a snap visit from Trump in the next two weeks, although any possible visit to government headquarters could come with as little as 24 hours’ notice in an effort to minimise potential protests.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May extended a formal invitation to Trump to visit the UK shortly after his inauguration earlier this year, but the visit was postponed last month due to concerns over mass protests.
Government sources have confirmed that Trump could visit his golf course in Turnberry in Scotland as part of a European visit this month, which will include stops in Poland, at the G20 summit in Hamburg and in France for the Bastille Day celebrations on 14 July, having accepted an invitation from French President Emmanuel Macron.
Trump’s hopes to avoid mass protests during his UK visit are likely to meet with disappointment; the following tweet by Owen Jones, a columnist with The Guardian and a campaigner for Stop Trump, a coalition of organisations and individuals formed to protest against Trump’s planned state visit to the UK, has been retweeted thousands of times since it was posted on Sunday.
Donald Trump is planning to sneak into Britain to avoid protests. RT if you're willing to commit to protesting this bigot at short notice ✊
— Owen Jones (@OwenJones84) July 2, 2017
Over the weekend, the US president came in for criticism for a bizarre anti-CNN tweet that, purely for just how bizarre it actually is, is worth a look if you haven’t seen it yet.
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