• by Sean Hargrave , Staff Writer, July 13, 2018

Anyone else's social feeds filled with picture of the Baby Trump balloon? There's no point even trying to ignore the news of the day. The US President, Donald J Trump, is in town and so too is the most British of responses -- a bright balloon bearing a resemblance to the President adorning a nappy, or should that be, diaper?

If the President was feeling a little unloved by the London crowds, and those outside Blenheim Palace next Oxford last night, he had a very strange way of thanking those who had borne the brunt of domestic anger by insisting the trip should happen. 

There has been a lot of nonsense about whether the President should be invited to the UK. The very fact that you're talking about the President of the USA means it is right and proper that he receives British hospitality. Whether or not you agree with his politics -- and there are plenty on either side of the pond who do not -- he is the elected head of Britain's closest ally. That doesn't mean you lose the right to protest, but to say he shouldn't be invited in the first place lacks any logic. 

And so now to those comments he gave to Murdoch-owned The Sun. I don't actually share a lot of the anger levelled at Donald Trump this morning for the points he makes about a Brexit deal that gives Europe most of what it wants on goods but doesn't reciprocate quite so much on services. He probably has a point that it means the US and UK will find it harder to negotiate a deal because the UK will likely be tied in whatever the EU agrees in the future. Nobody knows for sure right now, but he may have a point about how Brexit is developing.

However, my reaction is a very British one -- a little like the Baby Trump balloon outside the Houses Of Parliament. For me, it's bad manners. It's a sign he wants to cast a shadow over today's talks with the Prime Minister, Theresa May. Imagine going to a dinner party after publicly pinning up notices that whatever the host says, she's wrong and she's already been told she's wrong, yet still she carries on being wrong.

I recently read an excellent social media post about how Trump's "The Art of the Deal" book is all about having a loser and a winner in any contract. It works for hard-nosed business people who don't mind going through a long list of suppliers they screw into the ground and then demand a rebate on the final invoice. There are always lots more suppliers. There are only so many countries to annoy, though, and when you do annoy countries with a trade war, they have a lot of other countries to deal with. Apparently China is looking to Russia for more food to circumvent raised tariffs, and it is likely that American soybean producers will be out of pocket.

That's what I mean about manners. There are only so many countries and allies. Germany was singled out among the NATO partners for an ear-bashing over being too closely aligned to Russia. The irony of a President himself being investigated over links to Russia accusing Germany of being too closely attached to Putin for its energy requirements was probably not lost on those around that breakfast table. 

Then to reiterate accusations that the London Mayor "has done a very bad job on terrorism" is pouring petrol on the fire for Londoners. I can tell anyone outside the capital, I've never once heard anyone suggest that anything Sadiq Khan has done could be construed as failing London on terror. It's just such an odd thing to come out with when you're in London. Perhaps a slice of revenge against the politician who allowed the Baby Trump balloon to be flown?

It is ironic because Donald Trump earned a lot of goodwill in the UK for reinstating a bust of Winston Churchill to the White House. He is known to be a big fan and hence was offered a huge dinner at Blenheim Palace last night where Churchill was born, raised and proposed to Clementine. 

Theresa May and the government have taken a lot of flack for insisting Donald Trump is a welcome guest and to slate the London Mayor and tell the world that if only the British PM had listened to him, she'd have got it right and avoided the mistake she's in now is a strange way to thank a host.

Sadiq Khan's reaction? Rather than rant on Twitter, he has posted a pretty cheesy YouTube video where he seeks the opinion what Americans in London think of the capital. Other than being confused by tea halfway through a game of cricket, "Love Island" not taking place on an island and shock at the size of a full English breakfast, the point is it's a diverse, welcoming city. Trump told Khan he was doing a bad job. Khan fired a love gun back at him saying Americans are welcome here.