We asked Leeds students why they’re against Trump visiting the UK

It has been an arduous week to say the least. Immigration bans within the USA has led to outrage across the globe as refugees and green card holders alike are being turned away from access to Trump’s America. Increasingly it would seem that the Land of the Free is only for you if you are a white wealthy male, born to a country where English is your mother tongue…

But what can be done? It’s a questions stumping people who feel that the action they can take from their home town is inadequate. With Trump’s most recent policies being mirrored to the abandonment of refugees during the holocaust its a horrific outlook for the future.

Making our position in the UK even more difficult is our government’s keen attitude to maintain our ‘special relationship’ with America. Seeing Teresa May holding hands with Donald Trump was enough to make anyone with a mildly compassionate nature feel sick to the core. Are we as a nation standing by a man who so clearly is looking to stamp on those in need for personal gain?

The answer thankfully seems like a resounding NO. The British public took to the internet to make their opinion clear: Trump is not welcome here.

A petition was started to ban President Trump from visiting the UK, as many feel this would be a sign of support towards the leader of the ever increasingly ‘Unfree World’. The petition, which last time I checked had 1,824,833 signatures with the number rising every few seconds, is a definitive statement that the British public do not support the new America president.

(If you feel like you want to sign this petition yourself, you can find it here.

But what exactly are the thoughts of Leeds very own student population on just why we don’t want Trump over here? I took to the Leeds University campus to find out exactly what people thought.

Megan Evans, French and Spanish 

“Can you send an alternative (fact)”

Becky Roper, Arabic and Russian

How can you support a leader who fails to lead?

Anon, Broadcast Journalism BA

Because the world doesn’t need any more hate or fear:

Emily Booth, French and Religious Studies

Because fascism just isn’t ok

Sophie Heart, French 

Because supporting the hostile means we’re not supporting the oppressed

Matt Hodges, Social and Political Sciences

Weren’t we always told to treat others as you want to be treated?:

Eloise Salmon, French and Linguistics 

He’s not a good person

Sam Testa, Chemistry

We are a multinational society and Trump’s policies don’t support that

Anon, French 

Because doing nothing is siding with the oppressor

Kyle Shiels, Broadcast Journalism 

And sometimes you’ve just got to stand against crimes to fashion:

The overwhelming message here is that students, whatever their reasons DON’T support a visit from Trump. It’ll be interesting to see how the debate goes down in Parliament on 20th February this year! I’ll leave you with a beautiful summary from Dennis Skinner MP: