"Wanted me to cut ribbon-NO!"

[Miles Archer]

Donald J. Trump? Verified account @realDonaldTrump

Reason I canceled my trip to London is that I am not a big fan of the Obama Administration having sold perhaps the best located and finest embassy in London for “peanuts,” only to build a new one in an off location for 1.2 billion dollars. Bad deal. Wanted me to cut ribbon-NO!

9:57 PM - 11 Jan 2018

Link to tweet

[Miles Archer]

1. Trump calls off trip to London, blaming Obama for Bush embassy decision

Trump's on-again, off-again visit to the United Kingdom had been in the planning stages but hadn't been officially announced. The latest cancellation is sure to increase tensions with a vital ally that has broken with Trump recently over his anti-Muslim rhetoric. Some neighborhoods in London declared themselves off-limits to the president.

Trump confirmed his decision on Twitter late Thursday night after British newspapers reported that fears of mass protests had scuttled the trip. A poll from last year found that about 4% of Britain's population — roughly 2.5 million people — would protest a state visit by Trump. But he gave a different reason, blaming former President Obama.

***

The problem with that explanation is that Trump's tweet misrepresented the history of the U.S. Embassy move. According to the State Department and the U.S. Embassy itself, it was the administration of President George W. Bush — not Obama — that decided to build a new embassy in 2006 and chose the new location in 2008.

And the billion-dollar price tag is typical of an embassy construction of that size. Officials also said that it was financed entirely by the sale of other U.S. property in England — not new taxpayer money. It opens to the public on Jan. 16.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/01/12/trump-cancels-london-visit-blaming-obamas-embassy-decision/1027345001/

[LuckyCharms]

2. No Donald, it is because they know you are malevolently insane. n/t

[klook]

3. Surprise - it's a lie.

Debunked: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jan/12/debunked-trump-reasons-for-cancelling-london-visit