Trump state visit live: US president facing protest on arrival in UK with Melania before meeting King Charles – UK Times

Donald Trump is set to arrive in the UK on Tuesday for a rare second state visit at the invitation of King Charles III and prime minister Sir Keir Starmer.

Hand-delivering the invitation in February, Sir Keir said the US president’s trip would be “unprecedented” and “historic”. Mr Trump made his first state visit to the UK in 2019, during his first presidential term, where he was greeted by the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Here’s everything you need to know about the visit:

Most state visits to Britain, it is fair to say, are relatively low-key, jolly and uncomplicated. On the orders of Downing Street and the Foreign Office, the royals get the best silver and the tiaras out, and put on a show and a feast. Such exercises are an exercise in what’s called “soft power”, which is sometimes the only kind of power the British still possess. The House of Windsor has it in abundance.

This is as it should be, but obviously is not in the case of Donald Trump, a figure who invites mixed reactions in the UK just as he does in his native land and indeed globally. In short, no-one quite knows what will transpire before and after Tuesday evening, when the tangerine tyrant/saviour of Western civilisation, touches down. For all concerned, it could just as easily turn out to be a triumph as a disaster, with a mixture of both the more likely outcome. It should certainly be eventful.

But on his visit to the capital this week, the US president will not have to face an unflattering, air-filled caricature, which now sits in storage.

Harriette Boucher and Caspar Barnes report:

Police will be monitoring social media to check for mis or disinformation, and monitor the mood in the community during Donald Trump’s state visit.

People will also see a “very visible” police presence in the coming days, Assistant Chief Constable Christian Bunt, from Thames Valley Police (TVP), adding that the force had planned for “just about every foreseeable eventuality”.

The United States and Britain plan to announce more than $10 billion in economic deals this week as part of US president Donald Trump’s state visit, senior US officials said on Monday.

The two governments are expected to seal a trade agreement with three pillars: a new science and technology partnership to strengthen the tech sectors of both countries, cooperation in civil nuclear power, and advances in defence technology cooperation, the officials said in a telephone briefing.

Several US tech business leaders are expected to be in attendance for the state visit, the officials said.

Socialist Students said hundreds of students have pledged to walk out of schools, colleges and universities across the country on Wednesday.

Separately, a protest is planned in central London ending near Parliament on Wednesday, with a smaller demonstration in Windsor on Tuesday.

A spokesperson for the Stop Trump Coalition said: “After seeing the UK’s largest far-right demo this past weekend, it is even more essential to turn out to protest against Donald Trump’s state visit.

“Starmer’s response to this disgusting display was too little, too late, and now he’s welcoming Trump here to discuss nuclear and tech deals that will help the rich get richer but do nothing for everyday people.

“We do not want our government to trade away our democracy and decency.”