'Thick-skinned' Donald Trump not bothered by protests and 'definitely' coming to London, says US Ambassador
Donald Trump is “thick-skinned” and will not be bothered by protests during his visit to the UK, a key ally of the US President has said, as the number of people pledging to take to the streets continued to grow.
Mr Trump’s long-delayed trip to Britain will take place on July 13, lasting just 24 hours, with the US President expected to meet the Queen and go to Chequers for talks with Theresa May.
It had been suggested that Mr Trump may avoid visiting London during the trip in order to avoid expected mass protests.
But Woody Johnson, the US Ambassador to the UK, suggested Mr Trump would not be deterred by the threat of demonstrations because he is “very thick-skinned” and “knows what he wants to do”.
Mr Johnson also said the one day visit was not a “snub” as he insisted that he believed a full state visit would take place in 2019.
Mr Johnson’s intervention came as the number of people who said they will join a demonstration in London against Mr Trump surpassed 36,000 with a further 102,000 people signalling an interest in attending on the protest’s Facebook page.
Mr Johnson was asked in an interview with LBC Radio whether Mr Trump would be coming to the capital during his trip and the ambassador replied: “Yes he is. On the 13th of July. He will be in Nato meetings before that so he will come over here, have some meetings here.
“Exactly how those meetings are going to be laid out and who he is going to meet with and all of that is still on the table.
“He will definitely be coming to London.”
Mr Johnson suggested protestors would not stop the US President from coming to London.
He said: “He is very thick-skinned. He knows what he wants to do and he speaks in a very clear and unusual way from most politicians.
“Most politicians don’t lay it out the way that he does so he is going to get a lot of criticism for that as people interpret where he is taking everything.
“But I think in the end people are starting to even now realise that where he is going is a good direction.”
It will offer the chance for Mrs May to improve her relationship with Mr Trump, which figures close to both leaders acknowledge is not especially warm.
Donald Trump and Emmanuel Macron's 'special relationship'
Emmanuel Macron's three-day state visit to America this week, where the French and US leaders heralded a new "special relationship", has cast the May-Trump relationship in a harsh light.
Friday July 13 was chosen as the date because Mr Trump, who does not enjoy long-distance travel, is in Brussels for a Nato meeting on July 11 and 12.
It will not be the full state visit offered to Mr Trump days after his inauguration, for which a date has yet to be set.
But Mr Johnson said the state visit would likely take place next year.
“I don’t think it’s a snub,” he said.
“I think they can do that visit, that state visit will be put off a little bit but maybe next year he will do that.”
