JD Vance is heading to the UK for his summer holidays, and is expected to spend time in the Cotswolds. But it might not all be sweetness and light, as the US Vice President is set to encounter furious locals on his travels. The VP has said that London is “not English any more”, and has been accused of disrespecting British forces after saying that a US role in Ukraine’s economy was a “better security guarantee than 20,000 troops from some random country that hasn’t fought a war in 30 or 40 years”. In addition, he said in leaked messages that he would “hate bailing Europe out again” as regards defence.
Activists from the Stop Trump Coalition have promised to ruin the family’s getaway, who say Vance is “every bit as unwelcome” in the UK as the US President. It is thought that the VP and his family, wife Usha, daughter Mirabel and sons Ewan and Vivek, are renting a cottage in the idyllic English countryside. “We remember how Vance cut short his ski trip in Vermont because he was so enraged by the sight of a few protesters,” protesters said.
“We are sure that, even in the Cotswolds, he will find the resistance waiting.” The Stop Trump Coalition added that it will meet Donald Trump “with protests in Aberdeen and Edinburgh this month, and then in London and Windsor in September”.
The President will meet Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer on a visit to Scotland between July 25 and 29, as well as First Minister John Swinney.
Mr Trump will return the UK in September for an official state visit, during which he will meet the King at Windsor Castle.
Vance’s visit comes after he was filmed arguing with protesters in Waitsfield, Vermont, who were holding pro-Ukraine signs.
They called him a “national disgrace” and told him to “go ski in Russia”.
The VP confronted Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office in February.
Vance visited Disneyland in Los Angeles, California, with two of his children on July 12, accomapnied by a huge Secret Service security detail.
Barricades were erected outside rides such as Pirates of the Caribbean.
Places in the Cotswolds that are popular with US tourists include villages like Bibury, Castle Combe, Burford, Stow-on-the-Wold, Cirencester, Kingham, Painswick and Tetbury.
Some locals have complained that the number of visitors have led to problems like traffic congestion, parking problems and a strain on local resources.
US tourists Victor Armengol, 73, a retired accountant from Charlottesville, Virginia, and semi-retired doctor Nick Phillips, 70, from Kennebunkport in Maine, spoke to The Express during their visit to the Cotswolds in April.
Mr Armengol said that he and his wife decided to visit the region after she did a lot of research.
The couple also got a lot of recommendations via word of mouth.
Dr Phillips had spent time in London and Cambridge before travelling westwards.
“We’ve heard about the Cotswolds,” he said.
“The main thing I know about it is that Prue Leith lives here, from the Great British Baking Show, because I love that show.”