December 01, 2017•Update: December 01, 2017
By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON
A "working visit" to the United Kingdom planned for January between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Theresa May has been dropped amid a war of words between the leaders, according to a Thursday report.
May and Trump have been feuding following the American president's decision to retweet anti-Muslim videos posted by a leader of a fringe British far-right group -- a move May has labeled "wrong".
"@Theresa_May, don’t focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom. We are doing just fine!" Trump retorted on Twitter on Wednesday.
May shot back on Thursday while in Jordan, saying "Retweeting Britain First is wrong”. She was referring to the far-right group whose videos Trump re-posted, but maintained Trump's upcoming visit had not been cancelled.
"The invitation has been extended and accepted," she said.
The extraordinary row between the close allies has led to calls from across the British political spectrum for any potential visit to be cancelled, and the British daily, the Telegraph, reported later Thursday that the visit has been called off, citing an anonymous senior U.S. diplomat.
It had already been downgraded from a full-fledged state visit in a decision meant to diffuse mass demonstrations that would likely happen. The January visit has been scrapped without a new date selected, the Telegraph reported.
In response to an Anadolu Agency inquiry seeking to confirm the cancellation, the State Department referred questions to the White House, which did not reply to multiple emails.
Britain First is well known in the U.K. for anti-Islamic outbursts, anti-mosque protests plus street and online provocations. It is an Islamophobic, fascist group founded by former members of the British National Party in 2011.
The group organizes mosque invasions and its members stage provocative marches in political uniforms. It even uses an old army jeep in its stunts.
It thanked Trump on Thursday for his social media activity, saying on Twitter: “Thank you all our new followers. [sic] Thank you Mr. President.”
