Welcome to Day 2 of LibertyNation’s exclusive series covering President Donald Trump’s historic visit to the United Kingdom, covering the politics, the media, and the inside track on the president’s first official state visit to the junior partner in the Special Relationship. On Day 1, we set out the backdrop to this momentous visit.
After President Donald Trump’s grand State Banquet last night, London awakened with vigor in her step and ice in her veins as the capital braced for protests against the president’s very existence.
It is often said that a politician will try to be all things to all people, yet will ultimately fail. This appears to be another area in which The Donald has broken the mold, but not in the way you might think. As London plays host to massive protests today, there is no underlying theme to this self-styled Carnival of Resistance.
Send in the Clowns
Far from being a united outcry against a U.S. president who is no stranger to controversy, today’s protests may turn out to be little more than disparate groups with no specific grievance. Gathering in and around Trafalgar Square are various protest events. On one side are the Palestinians and the Muslimahs Resist Trump group, presumably angry about Trump’s special relationship with Israel. Opposite them (not too close) are the Jewish group protesting, well, it’s not quite clear what they are protesting, nor why they cannot be part of a larger group.
Not to be outdone, on the other side of the square, is the Chlorinated Chicken Bloc, which seems to be under the impression that screaming about Trump will prevent chlorine-washed food from making its way onto British shelves. This is tied into the idea that once the U.K. leaves the E.U., it will be subject to the forced purchase of chickens from U.S. farmers. Apparently, they have yet to realize that more than 10% of fruit and vegetables they purchase from the E.U. have far higher levels of chlorine.
Behind the Curtain
This Carnival of Resistance can best be described as a Carnival of Fools or at the very least a parade of useful idiots unaware that they are being manipulated for grander purposes. The loose coalition of activists has been coordinated by a handful of well-organized, well-financed Social Change Engines.
The Blocs themselves may have the best of intentions and merely wish the wider world to listen to their possibly valid complaints, but they have been hijacked by professional protest organizations and co-opted into creating the illusion of a united front.
How grassroots really is this “grassroots” movement?
Said Emily Thornberry MP (official title Lady Nugee), Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs:
“Next week, the Tory government will roll out the red carpet for Donald Trump. A President who is destroying all the values that have always united Britain and America. Join me and thousands of others in Trafalgar Square next Tuesday @ 11 am to #StopTrump”
Dawn Butler MP: “Not here. Not in our country. We don’t want you.”
Owen Jones, journalist for The Guardian and Socialist: “I’m not just protesting against Donald Trump … I’m protesting what he represents.”
And the list continues. Many Labour Party MPs are in attendance, along with left-wing journalists and a major contingent of Socialists; many unions sent along coaches for support. It’s worth noting that the Labour Party receives a large part of its funding direct from unions.
This is not a grassroots campaign of “normal, everyday people”; it is a political action being carried out by Her Majesty’s opposition party that has co-opted the efforts and voices of actual protesters to further their political agenda.
International Connections?
Jeremy Corbyn and Nancy Pelosi
Back in April, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) met with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in London. Quite why she would meet with him is unknown, but it widely was reported that the two discussed how to tackle anti-Semitism. The Labour Party is currently under formal investigation by the Equality and Human Rights Commission over allegations of anti-Semitism, an issue that has plagued the party since Corbyn became leader in 2015.
It seems strange that two parties from different sides of the Atlantic — with startlingly similar views, shockingly similar troubles with anti-Semitism, and penchants for socialism — would not consider cooperation on international “struggles.”
Will the London protests equal more than the sum of their parts? Or will they represent nothing more than a Carnival of Futility of Resistance?
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