After an extraordinary interview with The Sun in which Trump criticised Theresa May’s handling of Brexit and tipped Cabinet turncoat Boris Johnson for Number 10, the Prime Minister could be forgiven for already feeling tired of her controversial guest.
However, Twitter users believe they have a solution, urging May to channel Hugh Grant’s prime minister character in Love Actually and hit back at Trump.
In a scene from the 2003 romcom, the PM breaks from diplomatic protocol to give Billy Bob Thornton's boorish US president a public dressing-down which many of Trump’s British detractors found spookily prescient today.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Grant warns that the “special relationship” has become a “bad relationship”, one “based on the president taking exactly what he wants, and casually ignoring all those things that really matter to Britain”.
"We may be a small country, but we’re a great one too,” he says, before listing iconic Britons from Shakespeare to The Beatles.
The fictional PM ends his inspiring speech with this warning: "A friend who bullies us is no longer a friend. And since bullies only respond to strength, from now onward I will be prepared to be much stronger - and the president should be prepared for that.”
For many, it was the perfect rallying cry against Trump, who has frequently been derided as a “bully” for his strongarm approach to diplomacy and readiness to insult allies and rivals alike.
As Love Actually started trending, BBC Three’s Twitter account even attempted a - distinctly dodgy - video mockup of what such a scene might look like:
Elsewhere, users enjoyed sharing their favourite signs from the Trump protests taking place in Blenheim Palace last night and in the capital today, ranging from witty jabs at the president’s supposed admiration of Winston Churchill:
To messages you might describe as “straight to the point”:
-
August 31 editorial cartoonsCartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include FEMA's new scheme, Gavin Newsom's antics, and a clue in the Epstein files
-
Disarming Hezbollah: Lebanon's risky missionTalking Point Iran-backed militia has brought 'nothing but war, division and misery', but rooting them out for good is a daunting and dangerous task
-
Woof! Britain's love affair with dogsThe Explainer The UK's canine population is booming. What does that mean for man's best friend?
-
Lisa Cook and Trump's battle for control the US FedTalking Point The president's attempts to fire one of the Federal Reserve's seven governor is represents 'a stunning escalation' of his attacks on the US central bank
-
Why is Trump suddenly interested in his enemies' mortgages?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the president continues targeting adversaries, he's turned to a surprising ally to provide ammunition for an emerging line of attack
-
'A symbol of the faceless corporate desire'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Truck drivers are questioning the Trump administration's English mandateTalking Points Some have praised the rules, others are concerned they could lead to profiling
-
DC prosecutors lose bid to indict sandwich throwerSpeed Read Prosecutors sought to charge Sean Dunn with assaulting a federal officer
-
Trump soaks up adoration in his made-for-TV Cabinet meetingsIN THE SPOTLIGHT The president's televised sessions have become a platform for his top lieutenants to demonstrate executive flattery
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judgesSpeed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges
-
Can anyone save Jimmy Lai?Today's Big Question 'Britain's shameful inaction' will mean it's partly 'responsible' if Hong Kong businessman dies in prison
