Campaign groups are gearing up to give US president Donald Trump the welcome reception he deserves during his upcoming state visit this September.
Campaigners and students in their hundreds of thousands will make a stand against the far-right fascist president, with multiple protests and walkouts already planned to coincide with his stay.
Trump’s state visit: time to mount mass protests
Buckingham Palace has now booked in Trump’s state visit to the UK for 17-19 September.
With Trump’s visit taking place while Parliament is in recess, Keir Starmer and his Labour government will be hoping to escape the firing line of mass protests like those which Trump provoked during his first state visit to the UK in 2018.
But anti-Trump protest groups and students across the country are not about to let Starmer – and Trump – off the hook.
First up, the Stop Trump Coalition has called for a mass demonstration on the first day of his state visit.
The group emerged in response to Trump’s first term as president. It previously organised mass protests for Trump’s visit to the UK during this – mobilising hundreds of thousands of people on the streets of London and across the country.
Now, it is springing into action again. It plans to galvanise the public to turn out in force against the felon president once more.
The protest will assemble at London’s Embankment at 2pm and march to a rally at 5pm (location tbc).
Stop Trump Coalition spokesperson Seema Syeda said:
This will be a massive protest against Trump’s state visit.
Trump and his authoritarian politics are not welcome here.
Keir Starmer should not be rolling out the red carpet for Trump.
They are already running scared. They have chosen the first possible date that stops Trump from being able to address Parliament.
We know that Trump is deeply unpopular with the public. We mobilised hundreds of thousands of people against Trump during his first term, and he has only got worse since then.
We are working at speed to bring together all the movements – for democracy, for equality, against climate change, for a free Palestine – to show our unity against Trump.
Students standing up to Trumpism
Students are also making preparations to show up bigot Trump on day one of his state visit.
Already hundreds of students have signed up to walk out of their schools, colleges, and universities on Wednesday 17 September. This will be part of the Youth Walkout Against Trump campaign.
The youth walkouts, initiated by Socialist Students, will be a protest against the chaos that Trump’s presidency represents for young people’s futures globally. Students will be walking out to instead demand a future to look forward to. They will call for free education, a decent job, and the guarantee of a high-quality and affordable home for all. And they will agitate for an end to climate crisis, and for a world free from war, oppression, and exploitation.
Adam Gillman, Socialist Students national organiser, said:
By building the youth walkouts, we can send a powerful message to young people and workers in America that we stand with them against Trump – not with Starmer, who issued the invite for this state visit.
TJ, a 19-year-old student in Leeds, said:
Labour has made cut after cut to young people’s futures while bosses make record profits. now they roll out the red carpet for oppressive leaders abroad. I am building for these walkouts to give young people a way to show Starmer’s Labour that this is not what the public voted for.
Lauren from Wrexham said:
Trump’s visit to the UK is an opportunity to fight back; not just against him but the capitalist system he upholds, which puts the interests of big business above the lives of working-class people. These walkouts are a chance to stand up to Trump, as well as our government who welcome him with open arms, and all other leaders who uphold this corrupt system. That’s why I’m building the youth walkouts against Trump.
Attacking marginalised groups on either side of the Atlantic
Penelope, a college student from Preston, highlighted the common attacks facing students on either side of the Atlantic:
Trump has cut funding to US universities, and has attacked students and staff standing up on issues like Palestine. Meanwhile Starmer’s government here raises university tuition fees and continues the rampant underfunding of all levels of education. By walking out when Trump visits we are showing that young people everywhere have to fight for a decent education, in a capitalist world where none of our hard-won rights can be taken for granted.
While the university term has come to a close, and schools and sixth forms break up next week, Socialist Students will be continuing to build the walkout campaign over the summer. This includes calling public youth meetings in towns and cities throughout the UK. These will discuss how young people can build the walkouts and win a decent future under this Labour government.
The Stop Trump Coalition is also planning to call further protests once more details of the state visit are known. This will include one in Windsor around Windsor Castle.
The student walkout and mass demonstrations will draw uncomfortable, embarrassing attention to a number of parallels between Trump’s US and Starmer’s UK. From the violent repression of activists, journalists, students, and academics supporting Palestine, to brutal assaults on welfare and the rights of chronically ill and disabled people, it’s clear that Trump’s state visit is – shamefully – right at home with this right-wing Labour government.
Featured image via the Canary
By The Canary
This post was originally published on Canary.