Townley Jordan - Trump Not Welcome in Parliament

Summary: The speaker of the British House of Commons received cheers after announcing his opposition to Trump addressing Parliament during his state visit.

John Bercow pointed to Trump’s recent executive order barring citizens from seven Muslim-majority nations from entering the U.S. as part of the reason he would not support a Trump address. "I would not wish to issue an invitation to President Trump to speak in the Royal Gallery," Bercow said during a session of Parliament, citing the body’s "opposition to racism and to sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary." Prime Minister Theresa May extended an invitation to Trump during her meeting with the leader in Washington last month. The invitation has created controversy in the U.K., one of the largest allies of the United States. A petition calling for the invitation to be taken back got 1.8 million signatures and is to be debated in Parliament later this month. Thousands of demonstrators flooded the streets of London and other cities last week to protest Trump’s executive order. An estimated 10,000 protesters demonstrated in front of the prime minister's residence, chanting "shame on May" and other slogans opposing the invitation. Speaking to Parliament is an honor for foreign leaders. Only a few U.S. presidents have addressed the body over the past decades: Ronald Reagan in 1982, Bill Clinton in 1995 and Barack Obama in 2011.

Synthesis: This article has an interesting aspect because it is about what people outside of the United States think about Trump. It is so frustrating that he is turning good relations into foul ones because his actions seem to be so universally opposed. This article tells Americans of the effects of Trump’s administration in other countries. It should frustrate people because most do not want to be thought of in this way. This is especially significant because many Americans dislike him, and if even one of our closest allies are publicly disregarding our joke of a president, how can we expect any other nations to regard us as a world power?

Link: Trump Not Welcome in Parliament