Trump’s state visit may stick in the craw but he should be permitted to address parliament in June

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The promise of a full state visit to Britain by President Trump has been a thorny issue ever since Theresa May extended a rather fawning invitation on her own trip to the White House in January 2017.

Such was the outpouring of criticism over the prime minister’s hasty act – and of Mr Trump’s presidency – that for a considerable time it appeared unlikely that such a visit would actually come to pass.

Indeed, last year a diplomatic fudge was concocted whereby the president was able to pop over for tea with the Queen and a slice of cake at Chequers, but without the pomp and ceremony that accompanies the complete state occasion. The visit was met with significant public protests.

Plainly, however, the fudge had a short expiry date, for now Mr Trump is set to return for the full shebang, including a banquet at Buckingham Palace. His trip is slated for June and will coincide with events commemorating the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

This is a clever piece of planning, recalling a moment in time when the alliance between the US and Britain was given a strength of purpose which informed much of the next seven decades.

The relationship may have been frayed by current events and personalities but – however much we might despair at Mr Trump’s intemperate character, and at his regressive policy agenda – the rapport is not solely about the individuals who hold high office. We can, to a certain extent, treat Mr Trump’s visit with that mind, however much his personal presence might stick in the craw.

As to whether he will be granted the opportunity to address both houses of parliament, the Commons speaker John Bercow has previously expressed reservations. Yet it would be an almighty snub to deny the democratically elected leader of the world’s most powerful country that chance. And while a battle of wills between Mr Bercow and Mr Trump is an entertaining prospect, the president ultimately should (and presumably will) be given a platform.

After all, Mr Trump is much more likely to gain from any row in which he is perceived as being gagged than he is to be harmed by it. Far better to let him speak – and to let him be damned by his own words, which always fall short of adequate.