On Monday 3 June, as his state visit to the UK commenced, Donald Trump remarked on the "tremendous crowds of well-wishers" poised to greet him along the streets of London.
Depends how you're angling 'tremendous', Don.
Certainly, tens of thousands of Londoners were assembled in Trafalgar Square by 11am on Tuesday morning, wanting the 45th President of the United States to know exactly what they thought about him. You'd have done well to pick out a Trumpite among them, though.
As the crowds decanted from Trafalgar Square, down along Whitehall towards Downing Street, where Trump was meeting Theresa May, a handful of protestors sporting bright red 'Make America Great Again' baseball caps could be made out. Surrounded by police, they were soon bundled into a nearby Wetherspoon, while passing protestors yelled at them.
Anti-Trump protests are becoming a common affair in London — and whether or not they achieve anything in the long run, they are heartening reminders that people can knock up an excellent placard with a moment's notice.
Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama, appeared in cutout form, while the late John McCain — a man who Trump continues to feud with even after his passing — looked on over Trafalgar Square with a furrowed brow.
Cross-stitched placards, dancing chickens (presumably chlorinated) and unflattering nude portraits of POTUS were among the other standout sights of London's 'Carnival of Resistance'.
The oddest though? While one Donald Trump met with the outgoing prime minister, a second Trump posed just a few hundred yards away, for selfies in the rain. It's perhaps the closest the British public will get to seeing the president out and about.
