On Tuesday, London cops swept a group of supporters of President Trump into a pub when they were surrounded by demonstrators chanting, “Nazi scum off our streets.”
The U.S. president is on his second day of an official state visit to Britain, and protesters have come out in force, clashing with small groups of Trump supporters.
Police said they barricaded about 20 Trump supporters inside the Lord Moon of the Mall pub in Trafalgar Square — not far from 10 Downing Street, where the prime minister lives.
Police officers said the incident was the result of a “verbal disagreement,” The Independent reported.
Around a dozen Met policemen and women were still guarding the door at the time of writing along with members of the pub’s security team. …
A subsequent scuffle broke out between police and protesters as pro-Trump and anti-fascist demonstrators came face-to-face, leading to the closure of at least one the section of road closest to Trafalgar Square and the atmosphere to become more aggressive.
Police at the scene described it to The Independent as “a melee between opposing political groups – it is chaos”.
Thousands of protesters were expected to pour into the streets on Tuesday. A 16-foot robot of Trump sitting on a golden toilet while holding a cell phone — presumably meant to symbolize the president posting to Twitter — was wheeled into Trafalgar Square on Tuesday morning.
“The ‘Trump Dumper’ cost $25,000 to create and shows the President with his trousers around his ankles, with his trademark red tie hanging into the bowl. It will also emit fart noises and shout, ‘You are fake news’ and ‘I am a very stable genius,'” LBC reported.
Reuters reported that while thousands are gathered to protest Trump, the numbers were “well down on the tens of thousands who gathered to oppose his visit last year.”
Protesters shouted, banged drums and waved placards at what organizers called a “Carnival of Resistance” in Trafalgar Square while Prime Minister Theresa May was in talks with Trump a short distance away at her residence in Downing Street.
Trump said in a press conference on Tuesday that he had not seen very many protesters. He tweeted: “London part of trip is going really well. The Queen and the entire Royal family have been fantastic. The relationship with the United Kingdom is very strong. Tremendous crowds of well wishers and people that love our Country. Haven’t seen any protests yet, but I’m sure the … Fake News will be working hard to find them. Great love all around.”
Trump and First Lady Melania, along with several Trump family members, were feted Monday night at a lavish state dinner attended by Queen Elizabeth II. On Tuesday, Trump was to attend festivities to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the D-Day invasion, which helped free Western Europe from the grip of Nazism.
But opposition has been heavy since the visit was announced in April. A petition entitled, “Prevent Donald Trump from making a State Visit to the United Kingdom,” gathered more than 1.8 million signatures.