The process requires thought, attention to detail, coordination with the State Department, and adhering to the highest levels of protocol, and it appears they delivered. Finding the best gifts can be complex -- it should be personal and most nod to some sort of historical touchstone between the two countries, or the gifter and the receiver.
The Trumps came bearing a Tiffany & Co. silver and silk poppy brooch in a custom White House wood jewelry box in a red leather box for Queen Elizabeth II, according to the White House.
Though Prince Philip left active duty naval service when he married then-Princess Elizabeth, he holds a number of military appointments, including as Marshal of the Royal Air Force.
The first lady was "very involved with the gift selection," her spokesperson Stephanie Grisham said.
"Working with the State Department, Mrs. Trump takes great care in selecting meaningful gifts," she added.
Likewise, the Trumps were presented with thoughtful gifts of their own in keeping with longstanding tradition.
For the President, the Queen gifted a 1959 first edition copy of Winston Churchill's "The Second World War" bound in full crimson goatskin with gold tooling and a three-piece Duofold pen set.
Trump has a known affinity for Churchill; in one of his first notable acts as President, he restored the bust of Winston Churchill, which had been moved during the Obama administration, to the Oval Office.
For the first lady, a specially commissioned silver box with a handcrafted enamel lid.
Republican lawmakers are gearing up for a vote to potentially override President Trump's planned tariff on Mexico this month as an unmoved Trump reportedly remains defiant of his party’s warnings.
Congressional Republicans are considering to call a vote to pass a resolution of disapproval on Trump’s use of a declaration of national emergency, which allows him to impose the 5 % tariff on Mexican imports, which he said is set to go in effect on June 10, the Washington Post reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
If the vote passes by a majority, it would be veto-proof, unlike the first time Congress override a national emergency declaration for border funds in March.
Trump announced the tariff’s last week amid the ongoing immigration crisis at the southern border.
"On June 10th, the United States will impose a 5% Tariff on all goods coming into our Country from Mexico, until such time as illegal migrants coming through Mexico, and into our Country, STOP," Trump wrote. "The Tariff will gradually increase until the Illegal Immigration problem is remedied, ... ..at which time the Tariffs will be removed. Details from the White House to follow."
The tariffs will hike to 10 percent on July 1, 15 percent on August 1 and so on until the “illegal inflow of aliens” stops, the president said in a statement.
The threshold will remain at 25 percent unless Mexico responds.
According to the report, the White House is aware that Republican lawmakers are considering the vote but it has not commented on the matter.
Congressional members from both sides met with Trump on Monday to warn that the tariffs could damage a pending trade deal with Mexico and Canada.
The White House told Fox News last week when the tariff was announced that it saw the matters as entirely distinct and did not anticipate complications for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
Senate Majority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., hinted at the possibility of vote after saying that there are “a lot of members who are very concerned,” the Post reported.
“Congress is going to want to probably be heard from.”
LONDON – As British Prime Minister Theresa May meets President Donald Trump on Tuesday, thousands of protesters plan to tell the U.S. leader he should have stayed at home.
Trade unions, women's groups, peace campaigners and environmentalists are gathering in the capital to condemn Trump's policies — and Britain's decision to roll out the red carpet for a pomp-filled state visit.
Protests began with the flying of a giant blimp depicting the president as an angry orange baby, which rose from the grass of central London's Parliament Square.
One group came dressed in the red cloaks and bonnets of characters from Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale," which is set in a dystopian, misogynist future America.
Leaders of Britain's main opposition party are due to join demonstrators later at a rally in Trafalgar Square, just up the street from May's Downing St. office. Police have erected barricades to stop protesters marching past the gates of Downing St.
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn is due to address the protest, which will be attended by several senior lawmakers from his left-of-center party.
Emily Thornberry, Labour's foreign affairs spokeswoman, said Trump was "a sexual predator" and a racist who did not deserve the honor of a state visit hosted by Queen Elizabeth II.
Thornberry told the BBC that the leader of Britain's most important ally should be stood up to "the way you deal with a bully" because "if you bow down in front of them you just get kicked harder."
Not everyone in London was unwelcoming.
Lewis Metcalfe said he came to the city from his home in northern England to show support for the president.
"I'm obviously going to be a minority today," said Metcalfe, who wore a "Make America Great Again" cap.
"I don't agree with all his policies. He's not the greatest president in the world, but he does get things done."
Trump dined with the queen at Buckingham Palace and took tea with Prince Charles on Monday, the first day of his three-day visit.
Things are likely to become more awkward on Tuesday when he meets May, who is in the final weeks of her premiership. The two leaders have sharply differing views on issues including Iran, Brexit and Chinese telecoms firm Huawei.
Trump has already criticized May's handling of Brexit and said May's rival Boris Johnson would make an "excellent" prime minister.
President Trump and Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain met at St. James’s Palace in London on Tuesday.CreditDoug Mills/The New York Times
On Day 2, President Trump gets to work.
Mr. Trump arrived in Britain on Monday for a welcome full of pageantry: an 82-gun salute at Buckingham Palace, a look at a collection of gifts with Queen Elizabeth II and a lavish banquet with members of the royal family.
On Tuesday, Mr. Trump’s schedule contains less pomp and more work.
He attended a business round table at St. James’s Palace in the morning, and was later due to meet with Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain at her office at 10 Downing Street. Mr. Trump and Mrs. May are then scheduled to hold a joint news conference, and in the evening there will be a reception at the American ambassador’s residence.
Mr. Trump and Mrs. May are expected to discuss issues of security and trade, especially in the context of Brexit: Britain has hoped to strike a bilateral trade deal with the United States. It remains unclear what progress the two leaders might make, however, since Mrs. May is in the last days of her tenure in office, having agreed to step down as the leader of the Conservative Party after failing for almost three years to deliver Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union.
The president has criticized Mrs. May’s approach to Brexit before, and he has repeatedly praised the leading candidate to replace her, Boris Johnson. Before arriving in London, Mr. Trump suggested that he might meet with Mr. Johnson, the former foreign minister, calling him “a friend of mine.” He also suggested that he might meet with Nigel Farage, the leader of a pro-Brexit party.
“They’re two very good guys, very interesting people,” Mr. Trump told reporters last week.
Mr. Trump sees potential for a “substantial trade deal.”
President Trump attended a business roundtable at St. James’s Palace, alongside Prime Minister Theresa May, business leaders from both countries, and his daughter Ivanka Trump.
At the start of the meeting, Mr. Trump praised Mrs. May and insisted that Britain and the United States would come to an agreement on trade.
Mr. Trump said that Britain is the biggest trade partner that the United States has, a fact he then claimed many people do not know.
“I think we’ll have a very substantial trade deal,” Mr. Trump said.
Speaking to Mrs. May, who was seated across from him, he said, to laughter, “I don’t know exactly what your timing is, but stick around let’s do this deal.”
But the reality of negotiating such a deal is much more complicated, with the future leader of Britain still unclear and the practicalities of the country’s withdrawal from the European Union still unsettled. Mrs. May is due to step down as the leader of her Conservative Party just days after Mr. Trump’s visit ends.
Brexit supporters see a potential trade deal with the United States as one of the prizes of a complete break with the European Union, but such a pact could be contentious. Some worry that letting in American products would force Britain to lower its food and agricultural standards.
Inflating the Trump baby balloon in London on Tuesday morning.CreditTolga Akmen/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
Protesters have vowed to bring London to a standstill.
A giant orange balloon of President Trump, depicted as a scowling baby wearing a diaper, was released over Parliament Square in London on Tuesday, kicking off a day of demonstrations against the president’s state visit.
The same large balloon was the focal point of protests that broke out during Mr. Trump’s working visit last July, his first trip to Britain in office.
Mr. Trump is unpopular around Britain, and especially in London. He has feuded with the city’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, since 2016 over immigration, terrorism and other issues, and on Monday he belittled the mayor again, accusing him of being “nasty” and mocking his stature.
Large crowds of protesters, potentially numbering in the tens of thousands, are expected to gather in central London at 11 a.m. and march toward Downing Street, where Mr. Trump will meet with Prime Minister Theresa May and hold a news conference.
The demonstrators have vowed to disrupt every stage of Mr. Trump’s visit by bringing central London to a standstill. Last year Mr. Trump largely avoided London and the protests that erupted there.
“We are coming out in bigger numbers this time to deliver our message loud and clear,” said Amy Hunter, a protester and member of the Stop Trump campaign. “Trump and his racist, divisive policies are not welcome in our country.”
Mr. Trump and Mrs. May are expected to discuss Huawei and China.
When Prime Minister Theresa May and President Trump meet on Tuesday, they are widely expected to discuss Huawei, the Chinese company whose 5G technology has been the subject of warnings from Washington to its allies about what it considers to be serious security risks.
Britain’s foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, seemed to expect as much during an interview with the BBC on Monday. As he was waiting for Air Force One to land, Mr. Hunt said he and others were sensitive to Washington’s concerns. “We take careful notice of everything the U.S. says on these issues,” he said.
The Pentagon and American intelligence officials have warned allies that Huawei, which has been lobbying to build the next-generation network, could intercept or secretly divert secure messages to China. They have also warned that Huawei, because of the relationship between the authorities and businesses in China, could be ordered to shut down the networks during any conflict.
Last month, the Trump administration placed the company and dozens of affiliates on a list of firms deemed a risk to national security, a move that prevents it from buying American parts or technologies without first receiving approval from the United States government.
It also issued a separate order barring American telecom companies from using foreign-made equipment that could pose a threat to national security. Without naming Huawei, it meant Huawei.
Mr. Hunt was giving no hint about which way Britain would go. “We haven’t made our final decision,” he said. “But we have also made it clear that we are considering both the technical issues — how you make sure there isn’t a backdoor so that a third country could use 5G to spy on us — but also the strategic issues so that you make sure that you are not technologically overdependent on a third country for absolutely vital technology.”
Maggie Haberman, Alan Yuhas, Ceylan Yeginsu and Christine Spolar contributed reporting.
President Trump and Melania Trump with Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, at Buckingham Palace in London on Monday.CreditDoug Mills/The New York Times
On the second day, the president gets down to work.
President Trump arrived in Britain on Monday for a welcome full of pageantry: an 82-gun salute at Buckingham Palace, a look at a collection of gifts with Queen Elizabeth II and a lavish banquet with members of the royal family.
On Tuesday, Mr. Trump’s schedule contains less pomp and more work.
He plans to attend a business round table at St. James’s Palace in the morning, followed by a meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain at her office at 10 Downing Street. Mr. Trump and Mrs. May are then scheduled to hold a joint news conference, and in the evening there will be a reception at the American ambassador’s residence.
Mr. Trump and Mrs. May are expected to discuss issues of security and trade, especially in the context of Brexit: Britain has hoped to strike a bilateral trade deal with the United States. It remains unclear what progress the two leaders might make, however, since Mrs. May is in the last days of her tenure in office, having agreed to step down as the leader of the Conservative Party after failing for almost three years to deliver Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union.
The president has criticized Mrs. May’s approach to Brexit before, and he has repeatedly praised the leading candidate to replace her, Boris Johnson. Before arriving in London, Mr. Trump suggested that he might meet with Mr. Johnson, the former foreign minister, calling him “a friend of mine.” He also suggested that he might meet with Nigel Farage, the leader of a pro-Brexit party.
“They’re two very good guys, very interesting people,” Mr. Trump told reporters last week.
Image
A protest over President Trump's state visit outside Buckingham Palace on Monday.CreditDan Kitwood/Getty Images
Protesters have vowed to bring London to a standstill.
A giant orange balloon of President Trump, depicted as a scowling baby wearing a diaper, was to be released over Parliament Square in London on Tuesday, kicking off a day of protests against the president’s state visit to Britain.
The same large balloon was the focal point of protests that broke out during the president’s working visit last July, his first trip to Britain in office.
Mr. Trump is unpopular around Britain, and especially in London. He has feuded with the city’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, since 2016 over immigration, terrorism and other issues, and on Monday he belittled the mayor again, accusing him of being “nasty” and mocking his stature.
Large crowds of protesters, potentially numbering in the tens of thousands, are expected to gather in central London at 11 a.m. and march toward Downing Street, where Mr. Trump will meet with Prime Minister Theresa May and hold a news conference.
The demonstrators have vowed to disrupt every stage of Mr. Trump’s visit by bringing central London to a standstill. Last year Mr. Trump largely avoided London and the protests that erupted there.
“We are coming out in bigger numbers this time to deliver our message loud and clear,” said Amy Hunter, a protester and member of the Stop Trump campaign. “Trump and his racist, divisive policies are not welcome in our country.”
Mr. Trump and Mrs. May are expected to discuss Huawei and China.
When Prime Minister Theresa May and President Trump meet on Tuesday, they are widely expected to discuss Huawei, the Chinese company whose 5G technology has been the subject of warnings from Washington to its allies about what it considers to be serious security risks.
Britain’s foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, seemed to expect as much during an interview with the BBC on Monday. As he was waiting for Air Force One to land, Mr. Hunt said he and others were sensitive to Washington’s concerns. “We take careful notice of everything the U.S. says on these issues,” he said.
The Pentagon and American intelligence officials have warned allies that Huawei, which has been lobbying to build the next-generation network, could intercept or secretly divert secure messages to China. They have also warned that Huawei, because of the relationship between the authorities and businesses in China, could be ordered to shut down the networks during any conflict.
Last month, the Trump administration placed the company and dozens of affiliates on a list of firms deemed a risk to national security, a move that prevents it from buying American parts or technologies without first receiving approval from the United States government.
It also issued a separate order barring American telecom companies from using foreign-made equipment that could pose a threat to national security. Without naming Huawei, it meant Huawei.
Mr. Hunt was giving no hint about which way Britain would go. “We haven’t made our final decision,” he said. “But we have also made it clear that we are considering both the technical issues — how you make sure there isn’t a backdoor so that a third country could use 5G to spy on us — but also the strategic issues so that you make sure that you are not technologically overdependent on a third country for absolutely vital technology.”
Alan Yuhas, Ceylan Yeginsu and Christine Spolar contributed reporting.
China has rebuked US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for remarks he made on the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square protest.
Mr Pompeo criticised China's human rights record and called for it to reveal how many died in the crackdown.
A Chinese embassy spokesman in Washington DC said his comments were "an affront to the Chinese people".
In 1989, a large political protest in Beijing triggered a brutal clampdown by the communist authorities.
The Chinese government has never said how many people died at Tiananmen Square, although estimates range from the hundreds to thousands.
On Monday, Mr Pompeo had urged China to "make a full, public accounting of those killed or missing to give comfort to the many victims of this dark chapter of history".
He also accused China of "[abusing] human rights whenever it serves its interests", giving the example of China cracking down on its minority Uighur people in the Xinjiang region.
Mr Pompeo said US "hopes have been dashed" of China becoming "a more open, tolerant society" through greater global integration.
On Tuesday, in a rare public reference to Tiananmen Square, the Chinese embassy said China had "reached the verdict on the political incident of the late 1980s long ago".
A spokesman said Mr Pompeo had "used the pretext of human rights" for a statement that "grossly intervenes in China's internal affairs".
It added that his remarks were filled with "prejudice and arrogance".
It also rebutted Mr Pompeo's comments about human rights in China, saying they were currently in their "best period ever" and that anyone who attempted to "patronise and bully the Chinese people... will only end up in the ash heap of history".
What happened in 1989?
More than one million pro-democracy protesters occupied Tiananmen Square in April 1989 and began the largest political demonstration in communist China's history. It lasted six weeks.
On the night of 3 June tanks moved in and troops opened fire, killing and injuring many unarmed people in and around Tiananmen Square.
Afterwards the authorities claimed no-one had been shot dead in the square itself.
How is the Tiananmen anniversary being marked?
Around the world, dozens of rallies are taking place to remember the victims and call for change.
In Hong Kong - a semi-autonomous region of China - 180,000 people are expected to turn out for a candlelight vigil on Tuesday evening.
US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is expected to attend a rally in Washington DC later.
What is the situation in Beijing on the anniversary?
China has never held any official acts of remembrance for the Tiananmen Square protests.
Ahead of the anniversary, Defence Minister Wei Fenghe made a rare mention of the protests during a regional forum in Singapore.
"That incident was a political turbulence and the central government took measures to stop the turbulence, which is a correct policy," he said.
Media playback is unsupported on your device
He added that because of the government's action at that time "China has enjoyed stability and development".
In Tiananmen Square itself on Tuesday, in central Beijing, security remained tight, with police checking the identification cards of commuters leaving the subway station.
Many foreign journalists have not been allowed onto the square, those who have been allowed in were warned not to take pictures.
China has escalated its routine censorship of all references to Tiananmen or 1989 in the run-up to the anniversary.
However, some in China are remembering the event in their own ways.
Chen Wei is one of several activists who will be fasting for 24 hours on Tuesday.
The former student organiser told The Guardian that fasting was the one thing that "could not be restricted" by authorities.
President Trump and Melania Trump with Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, at Buckingham Palace in London on Monday.CreditDoug Mills/The New York Times
On the second day, the president gets down to work.
President Trump arrived in Britain on Monday for a welcome full of pageantry: an 82-gun salute at Buckingham Palace, a look at a collection of gifts with Queen Elizabeth II and a lavish banquet with members of the royal family.
On Tuesday, Mr. Trump’s schedule contains less pomp and more work.
He plans to attend a business round table at St. James’s Palace in the morning, followed by a meeting with Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain at her office at 10 Downing Street. Mr. Trump and Mrs. May are then scheduled to hold a joint news conference, and in the evening there will be a reception at the American ambassador’s residence.
Mr. Trump and Mrs. May are expected to discuss issues of security and trade, especially in the context of Brexit: Britain has hoped to strike a bilateral trade deal with the United States. It remains unclear what progress the two leaders might make, however, since Mrs. May is in the last days of her tenure in office, having agreed to step down as the leader of the Conservative Party after failing for almost three years to deliver Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union.
The president has criticized Mrs. May’s approach to Brexit before, and he has repeatedly praised the leading candidate to replace her, Boris Johnson. Before arriving in London, Mr. Trump suggested that he might meet with Mr. Johnson, the former foreign minister, calling him “a friend of mine.” He also suggested that he might meet with Nigel Farage, the leader of a pro-Brexit party.
“They’re two very good guys, very interesting people,” Mr. Trump told reporters last week.
Image
A protest over President Trump's state visit outside Buckingham Palace on Monday.CreditDan Kitwood/Getty Images
Protesters have vowed to bring London to a standstill.
A giant orange balloon of President Trump, depicted as a scowling baby wearing a diaper, was to be released over Parliament Square in London on Tuesday, kicking off a day of protests against the president’s state visit to Britain.
The same large balloon was the focal point of protests that broke out during the president’s working visit last July, his first trip to Britain in office.
Mr. Trump is unpopular around Britain, and especially in London. He has feuded with the city’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, since 2016 over immigration, terrorism and other issues, and on Monday he belittled the mayor again, accusing him of being “nasty” and mocking his stature.
Large crowds of protesters, potentially numbering in the tens of thousands, are expected to gather in central London at 11 a.m. and march toward Downing Street, where Mr. Trump will meet with Prime Minister Theresa May and hold a news conference.
The demonstrators have vowed to disrupt every stage of Mr. Trump’s visit by bringing central London to a standstill. Last year Mr. Trump largely avoided London and the protests that erupted there.
“We are coming out in bigger numbers this time to deliver our message loud and clear,” said Amy Hunter, a protester and member of the Stop Trump campaign. “Trump and his racist, divisive policies are not welcome in our country.”
Mr. Trump and Mrs. May are expected to discuss Huawei and China.
When Prime Minister Theresa May and President Trump meet on Tuesday, they are widely expected to discuss Huawei, the Chinese company whose 5G technology has been the subject of warnings from Washington to its allies about what it considers to be serious security risks.
Britain’s foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, seemed to expect as much during an interview with the BBC on Monday. As he was waiting for Air Force One to land, Mr. Hunt said he and others were sensitive to Washington’s concerns. “We take careful notice of everything the U.S. says on these issues,” he said.
The Pentagon and American intelligence officials have warned allies that Huawei, which has been lobbying to build the next-generation network, could intercept or secretly divert secure messages to China. They have also warned that Huawei, because of the relationship between the authorities and businesses in China, could be ordered to shut down the networks during any conflict.
Last month, the Trump administration placed the company and dozens of affiliates on a list of firms deemed a risk to national security, a move that prevents it from buying American parts or technologies without first receiving approval from the United States government.
It also issued a separate order barring American telecom companies from using foreign-made equipment that could pose a threat to national security. Without naming Huawei, it meant Huawei.
Mr. Hunt was giving no hint about which way Britain would go. “We haven’t made our final decision,” he said. “But we have also made it clear that we are considering both the technical issues — how you make sure there isn’t a backdoor so that a third country could use 5G to spy on us — but also the strategic issues so that you make sure that you are not technologically overdependent on a third country for absolutely vital technology.”
Alan Yuhas, Ceylan Yeginsu and Christine Spolar contributed reporting.
