The speaker of the British Parliament is blocking President Donald Trump from addressing the government body on his future state visit, citing Trump’s executive order temporarily banning refugees from entering the United States. The opportunity to speak to the House of Commons in London is “not an automaticright; it is an earned honor,” Speaker John Bercow said, adding thathe is “strongly opposed” to permitting the president to address lawmakers later this year, The Independent reported Monday. “After the imposition of the migrant ban by President Trump I am even more strongly opposed to an address by President Trump in Westminster Hall,” Bercow continued, to the applause of members of Parliament. A motion in opposition of Trump speaking in Westminster Hall — a venue typically used for such visits — garnered 163 signatures from members of Parliament.
Bercow’s statement comes a week after more than 1 million Brits signed a petition to block Trump from meeting Queen Elizabeth II. However, The Guardian reported that Prime Minister Theresa May — who extended the invitation to Trump after her visit to Washington, D.C.,last month — will not withdraw. Other members of Parliament have echoed Bercow’s opposition to “racism and sexism,” including Liberal Democrat leader Tim Farron:
Parliament has hosted speeches from Mandela, Obama & Aung San Suu Kyi. Bercow is right. That racist should not be allowed to speak.
— Tim Farron (@timfarron) February 6, 2017
Trump famously referred to himself as “Mr. Brexit” while still on the campaign trail last year, seeming to say he would win the presidential election despite polls showing his opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton, was favored. The vote to leave the European Union was, like Trump’s election victory, a surprising one to many. And when voters in the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union, Trump — who was visiting Scotland for the opening of his golf course — said he thought “it’s a great thing that happened.“
