People want Britain's prime minister to stand up to Trump, not hold his hand

Wow.
By
Rachel Thompson
 on 
People want Britain's prime minister to stand up to Trump, not hold his hand
Theresa May with Donald Trump at The White House on January 27, 2017 in Washington, DC. Credit: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Agreement has left most world leaders with their heads in hands.

In the UK, the leader of the country's opposition Labour party, Jeremy Corbyn dubbed the decision "reckless and "regressive." He couldn't resist a dig at Prime Minister Theresa May in the process.

She's been branded "weak" and "spineless" following her response. According to a statement, the Prime Minister told Trump of her "disappointment" in a phone call, but did not sign a joint condemnation from France, Germany, and Italy.

Corbyn tweeted a photo of the cringeworthy hand-holding moment between Trump and May, which happened during the UK Prime Minister's visit to the U.S. just days into POTUS' presidency. With less than a week to go until the UK's General Election, Corbyn said he'd "work for a sustainable future for our planet" instead of holding hands with Trump.

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Former Labour leader Ed Miliband also threw fire in May's direction, criticising her inability to stand up to Trump.

Others echoed Miliband, stating that May needs to stand up to Trump.

Meanwhile, Greenpeace UK urged May to "publicly distance herself" from Trump's move.

Over to you, Theresa.

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Rachel Thompson
Features Editor

Rachel Thompson is the Features Editor at Mashable. Rachel's second non-fiction book The Love Fix: Reclaiming Intimacy in a Disconnected World is out now, published by Penguin Random House in Jan. 2025. The Love Fix explores why dating feels so hard right now, why we experience difficult emotions in the realm of love, and how we can change our dating culture for the better.

A leading sex and dating writer in the UK, Rachel has written for GQ, The Guardian, The Sunday Times Style, The Telegraph, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Stylist, ELLE, The i Paper, Refinery29, and many more.

Rachel's first book Rough: How Violence Has Found Its Way Into the Bedroom And What We Can Do About It, a non-fiction investigation into sexual violence was published by Penguin Random House in 2021.


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