--- title: Donald Trump State Visit Petition Rejected By UK Government description: The U.K. government has responded to a petition calling for it to prevent President Donald Trump from making a state visit. canonical: https://time.com/4670284/donald-trump-petition-britain-queen/ author: Kate Samuelson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-02-14T12:22:25.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:03:14.524Z article:section: Politics og:title: UK Government Rejects President Trump's State Visit Petition og:description: "HM Government does not support this petition" og:url: https://time.com/4670284/donald-trump-petition-britain-queen/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt834117dfe377c7a6/6988ba42656a3fccaabcec6f/gettyimages-633265688.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3229 og:image:height: 1816 og:image:alt: President Trump Meets With British PM Theresa May At The White House og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: UK Government Rejects President Trump's State Visit Petition twitter:description: "HM Government does not support this petition" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt834117dfe377c7a6/6988ba42656a3fccaabcec6f/gettyimages-633265688.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Donald Trump State Visit to Go Ahead Despite Petition, U.K. Government Says ## Video: President Trump Meets with British Prime Minister May [Watch (HLS stream): President Trump Meets with British Prime Minister May](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/eJvkuFTj.m3u8) (2:10)  _Published 2017-01-27. As a candidate, Donald Trump called the North Atlantic Treaty Organization "obsolete." But as he stood next to British Prime Minister Theresa May Friday, she told the world that he was "100% behind" the alliance._ by [Kate Samuelson](https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Feb 14, 2017 12:22 PM UTC  British Prime Minister Theresa May with U.S. President Donald Trump in The Oval Office at The White House on January 27, 2017 in Washington, DC. British Prime Minister Theresa May with U.S. President Donald Trump in The Oval Office at The White House on January 27, 2017 in Washington, DC.Christopher Furlong—Getty Images by [Kate Samuelson](https://time.com/author/kate-samuelson/) ## Kate Samuelson Feb 14, 2017 12:22 PM UTC The U.K. government has said that it believes [President Donald Trump](http://time.com/4668898/donald-trump-birmingham-visit-protests/) “should be extended the full courtesy of a state visit” and that it does not support a [petition](http://time.com/4666789/donald-trump-united-kingdom-theresa-may/) signed by more than 1.85 million people to bar him from an official visit. In a statement, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office explained that while the government “recognises the strong views expressed by the many signatories of this petition” it is rejecting the petition and will instead welcome President Trump “once dates and arrangements are finalised”. “During her visit to the United States on 27 January 2017, the Prime Minister, on behalf of Her Majesty the Queen, invited President Trump for a State Visit to the UK later this year. The invitation was accepted. This invitation reflects the importance of the relationship between the United States of America and the United Kingdom. At this stage, final dates have not yet been agreed for the State Visit,” the statement [reads](https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/171928?reveal%5Fresponse=yes#response-threshold). The petition allowed for Trump to enter the U.K. in his capacity as head of the U.S. government, but called for him not to be invited to make an official state visit because it would “cause embarrassment” to the Queen. “Donald Trump’s well documented misogyny and vulgarity disqualifies him from being received by Her Majesty the Queen or the Prince of Wales. Therefore during the term of his presidency Donald Trump should not be invited to the United Kingdom for an official State Visit,” it [reads](https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/171928?reveal%5Fresponse=yes#response-threshold). A [counter petition](https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/178844), called ‘Donald Trump should make a State Visit to the United Kingdom,’ has attracted more than 309,000 signatures. “Donald Trump should be invited to make an official State Visit because he is the leader of a free world and \[the\] U.K. is a country that supports free speech and does not believe that people that \[oppose\] our point of view should be gagged,” the description says. 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