Unlikely as it seems, during his trip to the United Kingdom, President Trump was greeted by a media establishment that is even more hostile than the one he'd left back home. Throughout the state visit, prominent UK news outlets published a litany of articles mocking the U.S. President and boosting his detractors.
The British press couldn't spend enough time hyping the President's critics. The UK taxpayer-funded BBC came under fire on June 3 after the BBC2 Victoria Derbyshire show featured an in-studio replica of the famed “Trump baby blimp”. A photo of the blimp was also the featured image for the BBC’s article about the second day of the President’s visit.
The BBC was enraptured by the Trump-bashing mayor of London, publishing two video articles about his attacks on the the President: Sadiq Khan: Trump ‘poster boy for far right’; Khan: ‘Trump acting like an 11-year-old’.
Over the course of the visit, Metro published six articles that focused almost entirely on either protestors or the vaunted baby blimp. Meanwhile, Sky News heralded Trump’s visit with widely-circulated tweet which read: “Guess who’s back?”, featuring a promotional video about the blimp.
On June 4, the Guardian published a scathing piece lambasting the President and his family. The screed began with the declaration: “The freak show is back in town.” The author continued: “If Theresa May was determined to bow out on a low, she’s done herself proud.”
Late, the author mused: “Can you imagine, just for a second, thinking that Sadiq Khan is unfit for office and Donald Trump fine?” The piece also featured four full paragraphs complaining about the First Lady’s wardrobe. Those inclined to level sexism accusations will be reassured to learn that the author never called Mrs. Trump “likable.”
Both the Guardian and the Daily Mail published articles worrying about the visit’s cost to U.S. taxpayers. Of course, neither piece bothered to include any context about how much Presidential travel accommodations usually cost. Interesting that they didn't also make a fuss about British taxpayers shelling out for the BBC's baby blimp.
