LONDON (Dispatches) -- Donald Trump has been asked to make a ‘dummy’ State visit to Britain this year to show he can avoid embarrassing the Queen, the Daily Mail reported.
He has been invited to visit for brief talks with Theresa May – but with none of the Royal pomp and circumstance he wanted.
The decision will be hailed as a victory by nearly two million people who signed a petition calling for the trip to be downgraded to spare the Queen’s blushes because of Trump’s "misogyny and vulgarity”.
As a face-saving measure, the U.S. president will be offered a State visit next year – but it won’t take place unless the low-profile trip is a success.
The "trial” visit is bound to lead to comparisons with Trump’s starring role in The Apprentice U.S. reality TV show, the newspaper wrote.
The U-turn follows concern on both sides of the Atlantic that if his first formal visit to the UK since winning power is a full-blown State occasion it could be a disaster.
In London there are fears that demonstrations – or Trump’s eccentric antics – could embarrass the Queen. And May is desperate to avoid upsetting him to win a good post-Brexit trade deal with the U.S.
The White House is equally keen for Trump not to be subjected to ugly mass protests. By staging a "trial” trip, both sides hope to take the sting out of the controversy. And if it is a shambles the subsequent State visit can be deferred – indefinitely if necessary.
A senior diplomat said: "A low-profile trip followed by a formal State one is among the ideas being considered.”