Last Thursday Theresa May made a speech in Philadelphia at some sort of Republican conference, and got a standing ovation. That was a bit of a surprise: she doesn’t usually get standing ovations. So I watched the speech:
Various things stood out for me:
- she mentioned climate change (25:50).
- she mentioned ‘our friends in Europe’ and hoped for the success of the EU.
- she spoke up for NATO and for international organisations like the UN.
- she mentioned ‘globalisation’.
- she warned about Putin and Russia.
- she mentioned Britain’s ‘special relationship’ with the USA (too often, I thought).
To me it all added up to her being a middle-of-the-road British (or European or American) politician who believes most of the things that most right-thinking politicians believe, and have believed for the past 30 or 40 years. And that was precisely why she got a standing ovation from all the right-thinking Republicans at the convention.
The next day she met Donald Trump, and as far as I know:
- He doesn’t believe in climate change / global warming.
- He has a very low opinion of the bureaucratic, socialist EU.
- He thinks NATO is outdated.
- He’s not a globalist: he’s a believer in sovereign nation states.
- He admires Putin for sticking up for his own country, Russia.
So, the day before she met him, it seemed to me that she very loudly told the world that she didn’t agree with him about all those things. No doubt Trump got the message. And perhaps that’s why this looked like rather uncomfortable hand-holding the next day:
Trump is a maverick, and Theresa May isn’t. If it had been her choice, Britain would have remained in the EU. She’s accepted Brexit, but rather half-heartedly – while he welcomed it wholeheartedly.
Her mention of climate change also told me that she believes all the experts, about everything. But Donald Trump doesn’t. He won his election campaign by ignoring all the experts and all the pundits.
There’s a maverick in the White House. But there isn’t one in Downing Street. In fact there are hardly any anywhere in the world. I think it’s going to be a rather uncomfortable relationship, both for Britain and the rest of the world, with the new maverick in the White House
Frank Davis 
‘Donald Trump should be invited to make an official State Visit because he is the leader of a free world and U.K. is a country that supports free speech and does not believe that people that appose our point of view should be gagged.’
This is growing very quickly (1600 + added in last 15-20 mins)
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/178844
currently growing by c.6000/hr
Signed
signed, thanks Prog
Signed
I’ve just received an email saying the petition will be debated in Parliament on 20th Feb.
So did I. How many signatures did it get?
Still running, over 182,000 now
It was c.20,000 yesterday at 8pm
Just come off the site. It’s revving up very fast with 10 to 12 every few seconds, circa 196k yet clearly it’s being circulated widely and I expect the plan is to toast the figures the opposing petition gets.
Donald plays another blinder…
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-trump-lgbt-idUSKBN15F1D7?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=Social
http://www.breitbart.com/london/2017/01/31/delingpole-trumps-climate-plans-made-medias-heads-explode/
It’s all getting hugely entertaining, but then again a massive correction was long overdue. Looks like it starts this week.
Yes, it might feel a bit uncomfortable since they are two very different personalities, but I think Theresa May is a woman who doesn’t let her feelings get in the way of doing what has to be done: she’s getting on with the Brexit deals and she’s visited Trump and it seems they’ve both been polite, respectful and (probably) friendly. She seems not to be taking any notice of the ridiculous anti-Trump hysteria that’s going on. Good so far.
She’s preaching to the choirs as each choir comes thru !
Yes, Donald Trump is a maverick, the problem is that he is becoming too much of a maverick too soon. He is opening too many fronts and stepping on too many tails. The US president has much more limited power and much more checks and balances than, say, Putin in Russia. I just hope that he will not get into too much hot water battling too many dragons before he can (if he so wishes, a big if) to counter excessive authoritarian regulation on smoking and vaping.
A first sign that things could be moving would be an initiative to repeal the proposed federal smoking ban on all premises in Public Housing units. This ban would forbid smoking (and vaping) even inside the private home spaces, it would invite busybody surveillance on hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of senior citizens and under privileged smokers threatened by eviction for smoking insider their homes. It is not necessary to invoke science or “expert” technicalities to counter this proposed ban, it simply requires invoking the plain human decency of opposing the cruelty involved in it. However, if Trump gets into too many maverick conflicts and alienates too many republicans in Congress and in the Senate his administration may not have the political will or power to counter this type of measures.
He’s doing just what he was sent there to do in fact if it was me we would already have a balanced budget and 70% of government gone including the UN
You may have a point, Roberto. Otoh, he just continued Obama’s exec order ban on discrimination against gays and trans in federal hiring and yet they’re still screaming “Homophobe!” Point being, he’s damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t so he might as well do.
The first person to reach on the HUD (housing) ban would be Ben Carson who’ll soon be approved as Secy of Housing. If Carson recommends it–or himself has the power to kill it–Trump will have cover. I also believe (not certain) that since Trump put a stay on all fed rules that hadn’t yet taken effect, that that ban is on hold–eqiuvalent of an injunction. Otoh, just bec it’s not a federal rule doesn’t mean individual localities (city, state or even specific housing developments) can’t impose the same ban. Several cities already do. Btw, I don’t think the fed rule bans vaping, tho agitators are eager to add it.
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194,000 odd now, still open to sign
Brilliant response in such a short time not withstanding that grass roots folk haven’t been directed there by it being repeatedly plugged by MSM (unlike the snowflake one). Indeed, such is the power of social media that MSM’s teeth are rotting.
At about 4 pm today, with the count about 225,000, I found it rising at about 66 votes/min, which works out at nearly 100,000 per day.
From the numbers of votes above (darker is more), more English than Welsh or Scots would like Trump to visit. And fewer in large cities like London.
Oh, I dunno – I think that in that photo Tess looks like the swotty prefect who can’t believe that she’s on a date with the sixth form alpha male :)