A WAVE of public opposition to Donald Trump's invitation to visit Scotland has emerged on Change.org, with 237 new petitions since Friday demanding that the US president’s invitation be rescinded.
It comes after Trump's clash with his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the White House last week, which has been followed by the US leader pausing military aid to Ukraine.
Last Thursday, Keir Starmer publicly presented Trump with an invitation from the King for an “unprecedented” second state visit to the UK.
But Trump’s meeting with the Ukrainian president the following day descended into a bitter argument, which resulted in much condemnation.
The Prime Minister has already rejected calls from the SNP for Trump’s state visit invitation to be cancelled—but over 200 petition starters on Change.org argue that the US president’s stance on Ukraine, his apparent alignment with Russia and Vladimir Putin, and both his and his vice president JD Vance’s treatment of Zelensky in the Oval Office on Friday make the visit unjustifiable.
By contrast, there was only one petition in favour of the state visit still going ahead.
One petition organiser calling for the state visit to be cancelled was Gordon Pearson, who writes: “The invitation to Trump was a way to help draw him back into the Western alliance. Trump has shown that he stands more with Putin and behaved like a cheap gangster towards President Zelenskyy.”
Another petition organiser, Dave Barron-Robinson, even threatened to hand back his military medals if Trump's visit goes ahead.
"I devoted 32 years of my life serving the Queen and this great nation as a submariner; I have been awarded 4 medals of which I am rightly proud,” he said.
“However, I will not be able to wear my medals with pride if our monarch succumbs to Trump. If the state visit goes ahead prior to an acceptable peace deal, I intend to return my medals to his majesty."
Nick Bolding’s petition, which has over 32,000 signatures, was motivated by the prospect of taxpayer money going to a Trump state visit.
He writes: "The use of public funding to host a figure who has shown questionable attitudes towards the ongoing war in Ukraine feels like a disregard of public sentiment. It's worth noting that each state visit by a US president tends to cost British taxpayers millions of pounds, an expense I believe isn't justifiable for an individual whose actions and attitudes repeatedly clash with our nation's values."
Nick Mitchell, head of UK at Change.org, commented: “It’s rare that we see hundreds of petitions launched on the same issue on Change.org within the space of 72 hours.
"The first petitions calling for the state visit to be cancelled emerged on Friday night as the world watched events unfold at the White House in real time, and the wave of opposition to a Trump state visit has continued over the following days, showing the strength of feeling among the British public.”
