International
Trump to Confront Starmer Over UK Free Speech Laws During State Visit
By Cindy Harper
Trump’s tour is reportedly set to double as a rebuke of Britain’s approach to online expression.
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President Donald Trump’s state visit to Britain this week is shaping up to be less about ceremonial pageantry and more about a bitter dispute over censorship and freedom of speech.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer had hoped to use the meeting at Chequers to press for relief from American steel tariffs and to focus on Ukraine and Gaza, but Washington insiders say Trump intends to put Britain’s clampdowns on speech at the very top of the agenda.
The president will land on Tuesday evening. He will attend the usual state functions, including a carriage procession at Windsor, a banquet hosted by King Charles, and a wreath-laying at the tomb of Queen Elizabeth II before heading to Chequers on Thursday for what now promises to be a fraught meeting.
The free speech battle is not new. According to The Independent, Trump previously “berated Keir Starmer over free speech” during private talks at his Turnberry resort in the summer, according to a source close to the president.
That same source added, “There is absolutely no doubt that free speech is going to be one of, if not the top issue, when the two hold talks.”
Fueling the row are recent cases that have drawn international attention: Lucy Connolly’s imprisonment over a tweet, the armed police arrest of comedy writer Graham Linehan at Heathrow, and the UK’s sweeping Online Safety Act.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage has already carried the argument to Congress, urging Washington to punish Britain for criminalizing online speech.
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From the Daily Caller News Foundation
Baton-wielding protesters stormed the COP30 summit in Belem, Brazil, on Tuesday, with video showing some dressed in indigenous outfits, according to multiple reports.
The COP30 summit is the 30th annual meeting of parties to the United Nations’ Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), an agreement to reach “net-zero” carbon emissions by 2050, according to the conference’s website. Video posted on X and aired by the BBC showed the protesters kicking doors and forcing their way into the building.
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Two security guards were injured in the fracas, with one being taken out in a wheelchair while holding his stomach, Sky News reported.
Past COP summits have seen speakers propose taxes on the meat and dairy industry and “climate finance” initiatives for less-developed countries. The Biden administration signed on to a pledge to start “transitioning away from fossil fuels” at the United Nations COP28 climate summit on Dec. 13, 2023.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California attended the summit, where he labeled President Donald Trump “an invasive species” and “a wrecking-ball president” who was “doubling down on stupid.” Newsom also announced an agreement between California and Nigeria, which was declared a “country of particular concern” due to persecution of Christians.
From the Daily Caller News Foundation
Nearly 3,000 people died across New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pa. during the 9/11 attacks, according to the Pew Research Center. When asked directly on “Special Report with Bret Baier” if he regrets the attack, al-Sharaa distanced himself entirely from the event.
“I was only 19 years old, so I was a very young person, and I didn’t have any decision-making power at that time, and I don’t have anything to do with it,” al-Sharaa said. “And al-Qaeda was not present right then in my area. So you’re speaking to the wrong person about this subject.”
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The Syrian leader then shifted the conversation.
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“We mourn for every civilian that got killed, and we know that people suffer from the war, especially civilians who pay the price, a hefty price for the war,” al-Sharaa said.
President Donald Trump hosted al-Sharaa at the White House on Monday, welcoming the former al-Qaeda member who once fought U.S. forces in Iraq and served time in Abu Ghraib prison. The U.S. government removed al-Sharaa from its terror list just days before his meeting with Trump, according to CBS News.
Al-Sharaa, who led a rebel coalition that toppled Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December 2024 while heading the militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, has since recast himself as a pro-Western reformer. Legacy media outlets have described his government as “moderate” compared to Assad’s rule.
The visit marks the first time a Syrian head of state has entered the White House since Syria gained independence in 1946, NPR reported. Trump, during a speech in Saudi Arabia, said in May that he would lift U.S. sanctions on Syria.
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