Donald Trump hijacked Memorial Day to launch an astonishing attack on the “scum” who tried to “destroy” America by letting 21 million people “illegally enter” the country. In an astonishing broadside of the state of the nation, the US president used what is traditionally a solemn and respectful day of national remembrance to cut down those he blames for what he inherited.
Memorial Day, held on the last Monday of May, is a day on which Americans pay their respects to military personnel who died in the line of duty. But Mr Trump used a speech at Arlington National Cemetery, where his predecessor John F Kennedy is buried, to boast of his achievements and plans before veering off into a rally-style rant against his opponents. In a scarcely-believable post on his Truth Social platform, Mr Trump launched a tirade at a “sick” cartel of judges and leftists, who he claimed were hellbent on destroying America, saying: “Happy Memorial Day to all, including the scum that spent the last four years trying to destroy our country through warped radical left minds, who allowed 21,000,000 people to illegally enter our country, many of them being criminals and the mentally insane, through an open border that only an incompetent president would approve, and through judges who are on a mission to keep murderers, drug dealers, rapists, gang members, and released prisoners from all over the world in our country so they can rob, murder, and rape again – all protected by these USA-hating judges who suffer from an ideology that is sick, and very dangerous for our country.”
Mr Trump continued: “Hopefully the United States Supreme Court, and other good and compassionate judges throughout this land, will save us from the decisions of the monsters who want our country to go to hell. But fear not, we have made great progress over the last four months, and America will soon be safe and great again. Happy Memorial Day, and god bless America!”
Mr Trump is visiting Britain for a second state visit in September, which is likely to involve a blockbuster address to Parliament.
President Trump was personally handed an invitation for a second state visit from King Charles by Sir Keir Starmer when the prime minister held talks in the Oval Office in February.
The last foreign head of state to speak in Westminster Hall – the medieval great hall erected in 1097 for William II – was Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in 2023 just three months after his wife and first lady Olena Zelenska spoke to MPs.
President Trump was hosted by the late Queen Elizabeth II during a previous three-day state visit in 2019 held during his first term in the White House.
Traditionally, second-term US presidents are not offered a repeat and instead are invited for tea or lunch with the monarch at Windsor Castle.
Barack Obama was the last US president to address Parliament, speaking in Westminster Hall in 2011. Before him, it was Ronald Reagan in 1982.
Other notable world leaders to have had the honour include Kofi Annan, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, French presidents Charles de Gaulle, François Mitterrand, and Nicolas Sarkozy, former South African president Nelson Mandela, and in 2010 Pope Benedict XVI.
