Jeremy Corbyn does not rule out state visit for Donald Trump
The Labour leader says the US president's remarks about Charlottesville were 'awful' but won't label him a 'white supremacist'.
Thursday 24 August 2017 16:02, UK
Jeremy Corbyn has refused to rule out a state visit for Donald Trump should he become Prime Minister.
When asked by Sky News if he would ask the US President to come to Britain, the Labour leader simply replied that a state visit "is not a priority".
He also refused to condemn President Trump personally over how he responded to the Charlottesville protests, only choosing to condemn "the remarks" he made.
When asked whether he believed that Mr Trump was a white supremacist, as many in the United States suggest, Mr Corbyn said that he did not wish to label anyone personally.
"I think the remarks he made about Charlottesville were awful and he should not have made them but I'm not going to go into labelling people."
He added: "The issue is the KKK in Charlottesville.
"We live in a multi-faith and multi-cultural world and we should be proud of that and work with people."
Mr Corbyn was visiting the Western Isles in the Outer Hebrides as part of a tour of Scottish marginal constituencies when he talked to Sky News.
With difficult parliamentary votes looming on Brexit and a minority government in the Commons the Labour Party leadership believe that another vote could come at any time and are determined to remain on an election footing.
The party needs another 60-or-so seats to win a majority in the Commons and so the Western Isles constituency, with a slender 1,000 majority for the SNP, is a top target.
Mr Corbyn's refusal to excoriate and condemn President Trump signals an interesting change of tone from the Labour leader.
In the past it would have seemed unthinkable that Mr Corbyn, a long time anti-racism and human rights campaigner would have not condemned the US President in the most forthright terms and certainly wouldn't have hesitated in ruling out a state visit.
The fact that he doesn't today implies that the unexpectedly strong result for Labour and the possibility of assuming office in the near future is making him think about his words ever more carefully as a potential future prime minister.
Had Tony Blair or Ed Milliband chosen not to condemn President Trump, a backlash would have probably ensued. Mr Corbyn, however, being from the left of the party, has considerably more leverage with his base.
For the first time in his political life, he can smell political power, and is enjoying its scent.
Therefore, he can afford to appear a little more moderate now and again, in the hope of securing some floating voters who might worry he is too idealistic and volatile to be prime minister, unable to make the necessary compromises of real world politics, whilst still being confident his left flank can remain on side.
He also declined to say whether, as prime minister, he would write the letters to Britain's nuclear submarine commanders, in the modern age traditionally the first duty of a newly appointed premier.