Melania to Deploy Charm Offensive in London as Protests Against President Trump Erupt
Melania Trump is the toast of London as she arrived at a formal dinner welcoming her and the president to England.
The president and the first lady were received during a state dinner at Blenheim Palace, which is an hour and 40 minutes away from central London by car.
The first lady’s charm offensive helped ease tensions at the recent NATO summit and she'll do the same in London, where she plans to meet with veterans and schoolchildren.
Security has been beefed up to unprecedented levels for the president's first official visit to England.
Police are bracing for massive anti-Trump protests. At the center is a giant orange blimp depicting the president as an angry baby in a diaper.
"It will be seen around the world; the president will not be seeing it or anywhere near it," CBS Foreign News Correspondent Mark Phillips, who is in London, told Inside Edition. "If he follows events on television, which he is famous for doing, he will see it."
After 14 years, the Green Day song "American Idiot" is climbing the U.K. charts after a social media campaign was launched to make it the No. 1 song in the nation to coincide with Trump's arrival.
A recent poll suggests only 11 percent of British residents believe Trump is a "good president." Another 67 percent believe he is a "terrible president."
"His popularity here is not what you can describe as high," Phillips added. "Some say he is about as popular as an American president as George Washington."
The president, however, is staying positive about his visit, telling reporters, "They like me a lot in the U.K. They agree with me on immigration.”
His remarks came right after the tense NATO summit, in which he declared victory for persuading American allies to contribute more to their defense budgets and called himself “a stable genius."
The Trumps were famously not invited to the royal wedding in May and a rep for Meghan Markle told Inside Edition she will not be meeting with the American president.
Markle and Prince Harry have been busy on an official visit to Ireland.
Prior to her relationship with Prince Harry, Markle was vocal about her criticism of Donald Trump, calling him "misogynistic" on Comedy Central's "The Nightly Show With Larry Wilmore" in 2016.
Some are wondering if the Brits are still upset at the president for that time he insulted their future queen, Kate Middleton.
Back in 2012, he called her "stupid" after she was photographed sunbathing topless.
The Trumps will have tea with Queen Elizabeth Friday, before heading to Scotland for a stay at The Trump Golf Resort and to Helsinki, Finland, for the president's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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