US president Donald Trump ‘puts state visit on hold until the British public supports him coming’

The United States President Donald Trump has put his state visit to the UK on hold until the public supports him coming, according to reports.

According to the Guardian, the US President said he did want to visit the country if there would be large scale protests.4‘

A petition opposing the Republican’s visit reached nearly two million signatures before it closed early because of the General Election.

Trump, who was due to visit later this year, informed the government in a phone call in the past few weeks in a move that is said to have surprised Theresa May.

The president had been invited to the UK just seven days after his inauguration, whereas Barack Obama did not make his first state visit until 2011.

Trump, whose mother is Scottish, is a well-known Anglophile and has spoken of his fondness for Britain previously.

However, he engaged in a recent high-profile spat with Sadiq Khan in which he misrepresented comments the London Mayor made in the wake of the London Bridge terror attack.

May had told a joint press conference that she had extended an invitation from the Queen to the US President and the First Lady, Melania, earlier this year.

However, the invitation was criticised for being premature with many calling for it to be rescinded.

Commons Speaker John Bercow said he did not think the president should address the House of Parliament after the controversy surrounding the travel ban.

‘I feel very strongly that our opposition to racism and to sexism and our support for equality before the law and an independent judiciary are hugely important considerations in the House of Commons,’ Mr Bercow told MPs as he said he would not wish to invite Mr Trump to address them.

Good relations with the US is seen by many as crucial to a successful trade deal after Brexit.

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Mr Trump’s predecessor, Barack Obama, visited the UK during his second trip as President, two months after taking office. The White House recently announced Mr Trump’s second foreign trip will be to Poland.

However, the relationship has been put under strain, including when the US pulled out of the Paris climate deal in the past few weeks.

The President has yet to formally nominate an ambassador to the UK. American businessman Woody Johnson has been named.