Yvette Cooper, Britain’s foreign secretary, greeted U.S. President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump with smiles and a formal welcome when they arrived at London Stansted Airport on Tuesday, despite a record of public criticism of Mr. Trump from her time in opposition.
The president and first lady stepped off Air Force One as RAF personnel from The King’s Colour Squadron formed a guard of honour for the start of Mr. Trump’s second state visit to the United Kingdom. Ms. Cooper met the Trumps on the tarmac and accompanied them briefly as part of the ceremonial welcome.
The cordial encounter came against a backdrop of social media posts and public remarks in which Ms. Cooper sharply criticized Mr. Trump during his first term and the run-up to it. In a July 8, 2017 post cited by media outlets, she wrote that Britain was "forgetting to be disturbed by Trump" and that he was "normalising hatred and it's dangerous." At a Fabian Society event around that time she said the U.S. president had "built his campaign for the presidency on vitriol and abuse," and she decried what she called "aggressive misogyny," "Islamophobia" and "xenophobia."
Earlier posts cited by reports include a December 8, 2015 tweet, in which Ms. Cooper criticized Mr. Trump’s proposal at the time for a ban on Muslims entering the United States, calling the remark "ignorant & islamophobic" and "irresponsible & dangerous." In February 2017 she warned that what she described as "unstable behaviour" by the Trump administration toward Russia "must surely alarm" then-Prime Minister Theresa May and could raise "real issues for security cooperation." In July 2018 she urged Mrs. May to "stand up" to Mr. Trump over what she described as his conduct.
Ms. Cooper’s predecessor as foreign secretary, David Lammy, was also an outspoken critic of Mr. Trump when Labour was in opposition. Media outlets have highlighted past social media posts in which Mr. Lammy described the then-president in stark terms. After he became foreign secretary earlier this month in a Cabinet reshuffle, Mr. Lammy said the earlier posts were "old news," telling the BBC that "what you say as a backbencher and what you do wearing the real duty of public office are two different things," and adding, "There are things I know now that I didn't know back then."
The meeting at Stansted was part of a tightly choreographed ceremonial arrival that included military honours and local official welcomes. U.K. ministers and senior officials typically accompany visiting heads of state as a matter of diplomatic protocol, irrespective of prior political remarks.
Ms. Cooper’s decision to meet Mr. Trump on his arrival follows standard practice for holders of her office and underscores the distinction officials often draw between private political criticism and public diplomatic duties. Her prior comments, made while Labour was in opposition, were part of a wider pattern of criticism from some British politicians during Mr. Trump’s first term in the White House.
There were no immediate public statements from Ms. Cooper at the arrival ceremony expanding on her earlier criticisms, and the foreign office did not provide comment beyond noting the formal aspects of the welcome. Mr. Trump’s state visit is scheduled to include formal meetings and ceremonial events in London and elsewhere in the U.K. Members of both governments have said the visit will cover bilateral issues including security and trade.
Reporting on politicians’ past remarks has intensified around high-profile diplomatic events, highlighting how past social media posts and opposition-era comments can resurface when officials assume ministerial roles. The reception at Stansted illustrated how ceremonial diplomacy proceeds even when officeholders have previously expressed strong views about a visiting leader.
As the visit continues, officials from both countries are expected to focus on the agenda set for the state visit while spokespeople manage questions about personal remarks and past criticism of leaders. Media organizations and political commentators will likely continue to note and contextualize past comments as part of coverage of the visit and its wider political implications.