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A ‘Carnival of Resistance’ Awaits Trump in the U.K.

Except for a brief stay in London, the president will mostly avoid Britain’s cities. But protesters plan to gather across the country—and he’s far from their only grievance.
A balloon in the shape of President Trump destined to be flown over London during the president's upcoming visit.
A balloon in the shape of President Trump destined to be flown over London during the president's upcoming visit.Simon Dawson/Reuters

As Donald Trump prepares for his first state visit to the U.K. on Thursday, London is poised for what organizers are calling a “carnival of resistance.” Green Day’s American Idiot is now topping the U.K. singles chart thanks to music buyers voicing their discontent, and a Facebook event for a mass demonstration in London already has a following 60,000 strong.

The one thing that will be absent from all this will likely be the president himself. Partly to shield him from the discomfort of mass protest, his state visit has been set up not as a pilgrimage to the Mother of All Parliaments, but as a kind of Downton Abbey tour of the U.K.