Corbyn Snubs Trump State Visit Banquet
Jeremy Corbyn has been accused of “hypocrisy” for turning down the invitation to the royal banquet during President Trump’s state visit, even though he attended a dinner held in honour of Chinese Dictator Xi Jinping despite China’s human rights record.
The far-left politician said in a statement on Friday reported by The Guardian that he disagreed with “rolling out the red carpet” for the leader of the UK’s closest ally and would not be attending the dinner during President Trump’s state visit banquet.
Corbyn accused the President of using “racist and misogynist rhetoric” and criticised him for denying alleged man-made ‘climate change.'
Pointing out Mr Corbyn’s attendance at the 2015 dinner, Chairman of the House of Commons foreign affairs select committee Tom Tugendhat told The Telegraph, “Given the people he has broken bread with… I think it’s a level of hypocrisy that is really quite staggering, when you see what the Chinese government is doing to the Uighur Muslim population.”
Others have pointed to the socialist’s associations with those on the far-left and extremist spectrum of politics, while former Tory Party leader Iain Duncan Smith called Corbyn “unfit” to potentially lead the country.
“Jeremy Corbyn dislikes his own country, dislikes the monarchy and dislikes the national anthem, yet he is friends with Mr Maduro of Venezuela.” Mr Duncan Smith told the Daily Mail.
“Hypocrisy is the basis of his politics: It shows bad judgment that he refuses to sit down with our closest ally and our head of state. His ideology makes him unfit to be Prime Minister. He will not be missed. This is a pathetic gesture,” he added.
It was also revealed this week that the pro-Remain Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow has turned down the dinner invitation.
Mr Bercow, made his politics known when he effectively banned President Trump from speaking in Parliament during his July 2018 visit, facing severe criticism from Britain’s lawmakers.
Months away from the state visit, Bercow has come under scrutiny for blocking the address, with former Speaker of the House of Commons Betty Boothroyd telling the Daily Mail that Bercow “has no authority [to decide] as to whom should address Parliament.”
Baroness Boothroyd added that President Trump, who will be taking part in commemorations for the D-Day landings, “should be welcomed as a representative of the American people who sent their sons to fight alongside us.”
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