Mass protests planned in London and Windsor for Trump's state visit
Buckingham Palace confirmed on Monday that the King is to host the controversial American leader at the Berkshire royal residence from September 17-19, when he will be feted with a ceremonial welcome and a state banquet.
US President Donald Trump will be hosted by the King (Victoria Jones/PA)
The trip will be Mr Trump's second state visit to the UK – an unprecedented gesture for a US president – with his last one in 2019 seeing thousands of people turn out on the streets in London in opposition.
A 20ft Trump baby blimp also took to the skies above Parliament Square, just as it did during a previous visit by the billionaire-turned politician in 2018.
The Stop Trump Coalition has yet to confirm whether the famous inflatable effigy, which depicts the US president as an angry baby in a nappy clutching a mobile phone, will make a reappearance.
The original was donated to the Museum of London in 2021.
The Donald Trump baby balloon in Parliament Square during Donald Trump's last state visit in 2019 (David Mirzoeff/PA)
Other inventive creations by protesters in 2019 included a 16ft talking robot of Mr Trump sitting on a gold toilet, which said the phrases 'No collusion', 'You are fake news' and 'I'm a very stable genius' in audio of Mr Trump's own voice; and Handmaids Against Trump – women draped in red with white hoods in homage to Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel about a crackdown on reproductive rights.
On September 17 – the first day of Mr Trump's visit – demonstrators will assemble at London's Embankment at 2pm and march to a 5pm rally at an as-yet-undisclosed location.
Further protests, including one near Windsor Castle, are set to be confirmed once more details of Mr Trump's visit is known.
Security is expected to be at peak levels for the American leader, who survived an assassination attempt last year.
The then-Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall with US President Donald Trump and his wife Melania in 2019 (Chris Jackson/PA)
The Stop Trump Coalition's spokesperson Seema Syeda said: 'This will be a massive protest against Trump's state visit.
'Trump and his authoritarian politics are not welcome here. Keir Starmer should not be rolling out the red carpet for Trump.
'They are already running scared. They have chosen the first possible date that stops Trump from being able to address Parliament.
'We know that Trump is deeply unpopular with the public.
'We mobilised hundreds of thousands of people against Trump during his first term, and he has only got worse since then.
'We are working at speed to bring together all the movements – for democracy, for equality, against climate change, for a free Palestine – to show our unity against Trump.'
A 16ft talking robot of US President Donald Trump sitting on a gold toilet in Trafalgar Square in 2019 (Jacob King/PA)
The House of Commons will not be sitting at the time of Mr Trump's visit as it will be in recess for party conference season, meaning the president will not be able to address Parliament as French President Emmanuel Macron did during his state visit last week.
However, the House of Lords will be sitting.
Nick Dearden, director of Global Justice Now which is part of the coalition, accused Mr Trump of being a bully and suggested there was a growing global resistance against him.
'Trump is engaged in economic warfare against both friend and foe,' he said.
'He's bullying countries, including the UK, to give in to the demands of American multinational corporations.
'And he's taking his own country down an increasingly fascist path – crushing the rights of Americans, ignoring the courts, threatening the media and universities.'
Charles and Mr Trump during his ceremonial welcome at Buckingham Palace six years ago (Toby Melville/P)
Mr Dearden added: 'Why on earth would we want to accord this man a second state visit? 78% of Britons have a negative view of Trump, and with good reason.
'If Starmer won't stand up to Trump, we will – by taking to the streets as part of the growing global resistance against Trump and the oligarchs that surround him.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
a few seconds ago
- Daily Mail
Trump's attempt to terminate Musk's contracts backfires as review reveals NASA's reliance on SpaceX
At the height of President Trump's public feud with Elon Musk, the administration reviewed SpaceX government contracts in an effort to cut ties with the billionaire's business. Trump suggested on Truth Social the government could save money by 'terminating' government contracts with Musk's companies, which would force him to 'head back home to South Africa.' The relationship had spectacularly combusted over Musk's criticism of Trump's Big Beautiful Bill and personal attacks about the president's former relationship with child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Days later, a senior official at the General Services Administration ordered the Defense Department to fill out a form detailing every current SpaceX contract and transaction agreement, The Wall Street Journal revealed. The official said the data they collated would be shared with the White House to await further instruction. He also made similar requests to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in an effort to establish whether a competitor could run the same contracts more effectively. But the Defense Department's review instead established that most of the deals with SpaceX were vital to the missions of the department and NASA, insiders claimed. It also further highlighted how the government relies on Musk's companies to remain leaders in space exploration, and how little competition there is in the market. Musk has somewhat of a monopoly on rocket launches and low Earth orbit satellite services, as competitors like Boeing face setbacks in their race to catch up with SpaceX technology. In amidst the drama between Musk and Trump, the SpaceX founder had threatened to decommission his Crew Dragon - which is the only US certified vehicle able to fly people to and from the space station. The threats sparked concern within NASA, particularly after the Crew Dragon was recently involved in a mission to save two astronauts who had been stranded at the International Space Station for 286 days. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell met with White House officials as the review was ongoing, insiders told the publication. Despite Musk's feud with Trump, SpaceX has continued to win contracts in 2025, including a deal worth $5.9billion to conduct 28 national security flights. It also launched an upgraded GPS satellite for the Space Force in May, and NASA expects SpaceX to fly a new crew to the International Space Station within weeks. This has not improved relations between Trump and Musk, who remain divided on several key administration issues - primarily the Big Beautiful Bill and Trump's more recent decision not to release any new information about Epstein. Musk pledged to launch his own political party in protest of the spending bill, which he warned could 'bankrupt America' and add an estimated 3.3 billion to 4.5 billion to the national debt. Trump immediately hit back, writing: 'Elon may get more subsidy than any human being in history, by far, and without subsidies, Elon would probably have to close up shop and head back home to South Africa. 'No more Rocket launches, Satellites, or Electric Car Production, and our Country would save a FORTUNE. Perhaps we should have DOGE take a good, hard, look at this? BIG MONEY TO BE SAVED!!!' More recently, Musk weighed in on Trump's comments that the highly sought after Epstein client list is no more than a 'hoax' created by Democrats. 'Wow, amazing that Epstein "killed himself" and Ghislaine is in federal prison for a hoax,' the SpaceX CEO posted on his X account. 'He should just release the files and point out which part is the hoax,' he added in another post.
Daily Mail
30 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
BREAKING NEWS Cleveland Guardians risk Donald Trump fury with response to his call to return to 'Indians' name
The Cleveland Guardians have no intention of reverting to their former 'Indians' name, despite passionate calls from Donald Trump on Sunday to do just that. Trump fired out messages on truth social aimed at the Guardians and Washington Commanders, threatening to block to NFL team's stadium move if they didn't return to their old 'Redskins' name. But despite the President's demands, the baseball side will apparently be staying with their new name. 'I understand there are very different perspectives on the decision we made a few years ago,' Guardians president Chris Antonetti said in a statement. 'But it's a decision we've made and we've gotten the opportunity to build the brand as the Guardians over the last four years and we're excited about the future that's in front of us.' Cleveland announced in December 2020 that the team would drop its 'Indians' nickname, announcing the switch to 'Guardians' the following year. The comments from Antonetti risk upsetting the President, given the passion with which he outlined his case. 'The Owner of the Cleveland Baseball Team, Matt Dolan, who is very political, has lost three Elections in a row because of that ridiculous name change,' Trump wrote on Truth Social. 'What he doesn't understand is that if he changed the name back to the Cleveland Indians, he might actually win an Election. Indians are being treated very unfairly. MAKE INDIANS GREAT AGAIN (MIGA)!' Matt Dolan is actually no longer involved in the running of the Guardians franchise but was was twice a candidate in the Ohio Senate elections in 2022 and 2024, losing on both occasions. After venting about the NFL team in DC, Trump had earlier said of the baseball team: 'Likewise, the Cleveland Indians, one of the six original baseball teams, with a storied past. Our great Indian people, in massive numbers, want this to happen. 'Their heritage and prestige is systematically being taken away from them. Times are different now than they were three or four years ago. We are a Country of passion and common sense. OWNERS, GET IT DONE!'
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
To defeat Trump, the left must learn from him
In the first six months of his second term as president, Donald Trump has dominated the national political conversation, implemented an aggressive agenda of constitutional reform, scrambled longstanding American alliances, and helped alter US political culture. Pro-democracy forces have been left with their heads spinning. They (and I) have spent too much time simply denouncing or pathologizing him and far too little time learning from him. And there is a lot to learn. Not since the middle of the twentieth century, when Franklin Delano Roosevelt led a constitutional revolution, has any president achieved so much of his agenda in so short a time. But to recognize Trump's political genius is not to say that it has been put to good use or that he has been a good president. Like others who see 'connections and possibilities in circumstances that even people who are smart in conventional ways do not see,' the president has shown himself to be adept at reading the temper of the times, exploiting weaknesses in others, and assembling a coalition of the faithful that others would have never thought possible. What PittNews' Grace Longworth wrote last September has been confirmed since he returned to the Oval Office. 'Trump is not as crazy or dumb as his opposition would like to believe he is,' Longsworth said. Trump's genius is demonstrated by his ability to transform 'calamitous errors into political gold'. In the past six months, he has continued to do what he has done since he first appeared on the national political scene. From then until now, he has convinced millions of Americans to buy into his version of events and not to believe what they see with their eyes. Insurrectionists become patriots. Law-abiding immigrants become threats to America's way of life. Journalists become 'enemies of the people'. It's magic. Of course, the last six months have not been all smooth sailing for the president, who is now embroiled in a controversy about releasing material about the child sexual offender Jeffrey Epstein. But Trump succeeds because he is undaunted by critics and unfazed by the kinds of barriers that would throw any ordinary politician off their game. When necessary, he makes things up and repeats them until what he says seems to be real. None of this is good for democracy. Trump has done what millions of Americans want done: transform the political system. He has not been afraid to call into question constitutional verities. The greatest, and most dangerous, achievement of the president's first six months has been reshaping the balance of power among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. The president has activated a political movement that has produced what Yale Law Professor Bruce Ackerman describes as 'constitutional moments.' In those moments, fundamental political change happens without any formal change in the language of the Constitution itself. 'Normal politics is temporarily suspended in favor of a 'constitutional politics,' focused on fundamental principles.' Since January, the Trump administration's actions have indeed focused the attention of the nation on such principles. Like it or not, Donald Trump is turning the constitution on its head, changing it from a Republican to an authoritarian document. And with every passing day, we see that transformation happening. The Republican majority in Congress seems eager to let the president reshape the constitution and take on functions that it clearly assigns to the legislature. Tariffs, Congress is supposed to decide. Dissolving executive departments, Congress is supposed to decide. War powers, they belong to Congress. But you'd never know any of that from the way the president has behaved since 20 January. The supreme court has followed suit, giving its blessing to his aggressive assertions of executive authority even when they violate the clear meaning of the constitution. The court even severely limited the role of the lower courts by denying them the right to issue nationwide injunctions to stop the president from acting illegally. Beyond Congress and the court, it seems clear that pro-democracy forces did not do all they could have to prepare for this moment. Trump's opponents have not learned from Trump how to effectively counter his 'constitutional moment'. So what can we do? We can learn from Trump the importance of telling a simple, understandable story and sticking to it. Pro-democracy forces need to pick a message and repeat it again and again to drive it home. There is surely no one in America who has not heard the phrase Make America Great Again and does not associate Maga with Trump. We can learn to appeal to national pride and drive home that national greatness requires addressing the daily experiences of ordinary Americans in language of the kind they use. Make America Affordable Again. Make America Work Again for Everyone. Think X, Instagram, and what works on a podcast. Pro-democracy forces can learn to be as determined and undaunted in defense of democracy as the president has been in his assault on it. Take off the gloves. Show your teeth, take no prisoners. Trump has shown that it matters to voters not just what you stand for but also how you go about standing for it. Sign up to Fighting Back Big thinkers on what we can do to protect civil liberties and fundamental freedoms in a Trump presidency. From our opinion desk. after newsletter promotion Smile less, swear more. We can learn from the president that political success requires building a movement and not being trapped by the norms and conventions of existing political organizations. Remember Trump has gotten to where he is not by being an acolyte of Republican orthodoxy but by being a heretic. In the age of loneliness, pro-democracy forces need to give people the sense that they are caught up in a great cause. We can learn from the president that if the pro-democracy movement is to succeed, it needs to offer its own version of constitutional reform. Stop talking about preserving the system and start talking about changing it in ways that will make government responsive and connect it to the lives that people live. The six-month mark in his second term is a good moment to dedicate or rededicate ourselves to that work. Every Friday since April, I have organized a Stand Up for Democracy protest in the town where I live. People show up. They hold signs and come to bear witness, even if what they do will not convert anyone to democracy's cause. They want to affirm their belief that democracy matters, and they want to do so publicly. Some are fearful, worried that they will somehow be punished for participating, but they show up. In addition, Harvard University's willingness to resist the Trump administration's demands that threatened academic freedom and institutional independence set a powerful example. Whether or not the university reaches an agreement with the administration, Harvard's example will still matter. It is also true, as Axios reports, that protests against Trump administration policies and allies 'have attracted millions in the last few months: Tesla Takedown in March, Hands Off! and 50501 in April, May Day, No Kings Day in June, and Free America on Independence Day'. Another mass event, 'Good Trouble Lives On,' occurred on 17 July, 'commemorating the fifth anniversary of the death of civil rights leader and former Rep John Lewis'. Those events need to happen more frequently than once a month. But they are a start. Axios cites Professor Gloria J Browne-Marshall, who reminds us that 'effective protesting often starts with an emotional response to policy or an event, swiftly followed by strategy … The current movement is reaching that second stage'. In that stage, it has a chance to ''actually make change in the government'.' I think that the seeds of that kind of opposition have been planted. But there is no time to waste if we are to prevent Trump's political ingenuity from succeeding in permanently reshaping the institutions and practices of our constitutional republic towards authoritarianism. Austin Sarat, William Nelson Cromwell professor of jurisprudence and political science at Amherst College, is the author or editor of more than 100 books, including Gruesome Spectacles: Botched Executions and America's Death Penalty
