Donald Trump might actually get banned from the United Kingdom

By Fusion Staff  |  December 30, 2015 | 3:03pm
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If Donald Trump has always wanted to see Big Ben, he might want to get a move on.

The Republican presidential candidate could end up being banned from the United Kingdom for his anti-Muslim statements and policy proposals, following an online petition signed by over 500,000 people. A statement from a top British government official, Home Secretary Theresa May, suggested that Trump could be blocked from entering the UK should he continue his hateful rhetoric against Muslims, according to The Telegraph, as such speech is “non-conducive to the public good.”

The statement comes in response to a wildly successful online petition that sought to exclude Trump from entering the United Kingdom. The petition, titled “Block Donald J Trump from U.K. entry,” began circulating in early December and drew over half a million signatures, far more than the 100,000 needed for the petition to merit debate in Parliament, and also more than the 10,000 needed to require the British government to officially respond.

May’s statement, per The Telegraph, lays out certain criteria by which a person could be banned from the UK: “The Home Secretary may exclude a non-European Economic Area national from the UK,” the statement reads, “if she considers their presence in the UK to be non-conducive to the public good.”

It elaborates from there:

The Home Secretary has said that coming to the UK is a privilege and not a right and she will continue to use the powers available to prevent from entering the UK those who seek to harm our society and who do not share our basic values.
Exclusion powers are very serious and are not used lightly. The Home Secretary will use these powers when justified and based on all available evidence
The Prime Minister has made clear that he completely disagrees with Donald Trump’s remarks. The Home Secretary has said that Donald Trump’s remarks in relation to Muslims are divisive, unhelpful and wrong.
The Government recognises the strength of feeling against the remarks and will continue to speak out against comments which have the potential to divide our communities, regardless of who makes them. We reject any attempts to create division and marginalisation amongst those we endeavour to protect.

The government had been forced to respond to the “Block Donald J. Trump” petition within 21 days, according to Mashable, the deadline any official petition that receives over 10,000 signatures requires. A spokesman for the Home Office declined to elaborate specifically on Trump’s exclusion case.

Trump, for his part, doesn’t seem to be taking the threat too seriously.

“I only said what needed to be said,” Trump concluded, “and when I am elected no one will be tougher or smarter than me.”

 
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