One is not amused: more than 1 million Brits sign petition to stop Trump from meeting the queen
More than a million people in Britain have signed a petition calling for US President Donald Trump’s planned state visit to be cancelled to avoid embarrassing Queen Elizabeth, in a grassroots backlash against his immigration policies.
The petition against the state visit, which is on the British parliament’s website, passed the one million mark on Monday morning and the number of signatories was rising fast.
“Donald Trump should be allowed to enter the UK in his capacity as head of the US Government, but he should not be invited to make an official State Visit because it would cause embarrassment to Her Majesty the Queen,” the petition says.
It was the second most popular petition ever on the parliamentary website, after one calling for a second referendum on membership of the European Union drew over 4 million signatures last year.
Once a petition passes 100,000 signatures, lawmakers must consider it for debate. Such debates are largely symbolic and rarely affect government policy, although one on this particular issue would potentially be embarrassing for May. Her Downing Street office said the invitation had been extended and accepted, declining further comment.
A year ago, parliament debated a petition calling for Trump, then the Republican candidate, to be barred from the United Kingdom. It gathered close to 600,000 signatures before it was closed last June.