British Prime Minister Theresa May's dash to the United States seemed to have been a great success when she left Washington on Jan. 28.
May's speech to leading Republicans in Philadelphia the day before had gone down well. She had received a warm welcome from President Donald Trump and been photographed with the president holding her hand (although it was later reported that he had grasped her hand as he has a phobia about going down steps or a slope without a handrail). He had accepted the invitation to pay an early state visit to the United Kingdom and expressed his affection for Britain. She seemed to have won him over to support NATO and to have obtained a promise of an early trade agreement after Brexit.
But by the time she had got to Ankara and completed her talks with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan her triumph looked hollow. She had hardly left the White House before Trump issued his executive order banning from entry into the U.S. people from seven Middle East and African countries for 90 days and refugees for 120 days. The U.S. would no longer welcome refugees despite its international obligations and the sufferings of so many refugees, which should arouse compassion.