American diplomats called off President Trump’s “working visit” to the UK less than 48 hours after he drew international ire over retweeting the leader of a British far-right group, according to a report.
Trump was scheduled to travel to London in January for the inauguration of a new American embassy. But those plans were dropped Thursday, a senior U.S. diplomat told the Telegraph.
“The idea of a visit has obviously been floated, but not December and not January,” the diplomat told the British newspaper. “I would not expect a Trump visit in January.”
The White House did not immediately return a request for comment from the Daily News.
News of the apparent cancellation came just hours after British Prime Minister Theresa May said it was “wrong” of Trump to retweet a trio of Islamophobic videos posted by Jayda Fransen, an organizer for the ultranationalist Britain First group.
May pointed out to Trump that Britain First is a “hateful organization” that “seeks to spread mistrust and division within our communities.”
Trump responded that May shouldn’t focus on him.
“Focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom,” he tweeted.
The low-key January trip was supposed to allow Trump to visit the UK without triggering massive protests. As opposed to a formal state visit, the trip would not have included a meeting with the Queen.
Thousands of Brits called on Prime Minister May to rescind her formal state visit offer to Trump after his inflammatory retweets. The prime minister brushed off those calls on Thursday, telling reporters that the invitation stands.
At least one of the videos that Trump retweeted have been debunked as fake, but White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said that doesn’t matter.
“Whether it’s a real video, the threat is real. His goal is to promote strong border security and strong national security,” Sanders said Wednesday.
