Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding is being billed as the big national celebration of 2018. But Theresa May’s desperation for a post-Brexit trade deal with the US could see Donald Trump become an unwanted guest.
Michael Wolff, author of the explosive new book on Trump’s White House, told the Mail on Sunday that the president “doesn’t like being snubbed” and failure to invite him to the royal nuptials could damage May’s dreams of a free-trade deal.
That would leave the prime minister in a bind. She could persuade the happy couple to invite Trump, but neither of them is thought to like him much. Markle is a Hillary Clinton supporter, while her fiance gets on well with Barack Obama.
May promised Britons “renewed confidence and pride” in her New Year’s message. But how would that tally with forcing this poster-couple for modern Britishness to invite to their wedding a president known for his sexism and racism? This would be a display of weakness no patriotic Brit could be proud of.
Alternatively, Trump doesn’t get his invite and May probably doesn’t get her trade deal. As Wolff explains: “Trump’s foreign policy doctrine is simple: you Brits suck up to him and enlist in whatever geopolitical fantasy he has going, he’ll give you what you want – though only if it doesn’t hurt him.”
That last line – “only if it doesn’t hurt him” – should help May make her decision. A deal with Trump’s America was always going to be on Trump’s terms, which would be at the expense of British consumers and the UK’s future relationship with our EU neighbours. Chlorinated chicken, anyone? However, if May accepts that a good deal with the US is unobtainable, one of the big reasons for having Brexit in the first place would go out the window.
The prime minister opened a Pandora’s box by cosying up to Trump after his election, and pinning so many post-Brexit hopes on a deal with America. After the royal wedding, there’s still the lingering promise of a State Visit. Wolff claims that the president wants to “Trumpalise” the Queen like a contestant on a reality show. Now that really would be a national embarrassment.
