Politics

Hillary Clinton receives UK accolade after Trump trip downgraded

Oct 15, 2017

The former first lady has won the heart of Swansea University.

Given the choice between the 2016 US presidential candidates, it seems the United Kingdom would prefer the company of Hillary Rodham Clinton. The former US secretary of state is visiting the UK at the moment, and she’s just been awarded a special honour from the University of Swansea in Wales.

Clad in a long, striking yellow jacket, Clinton also donned the traditional academic dress during the ceremony. The former first lady noted during the ceremony that the award “meant the world to her”.

The honorary doctorate was awarded in recognition of Clinton’s “commitment to promoting the rights of families and children around the world”, according to a BBC News article. The law school building at Swansea was also renamed the Hillary Rodham Clinton School of Law.

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“It is tremendous that [Clinton] has chosen Swansea University for her first public appearance on this visit to the UK,” Professor Richard Davies, vice-chancellor of the university, said of Clinton’s ceremony.

“Swansea University’s Observatory on the Human Rights of Children and Young People is working to improve human rights on a global basis through the exchange of policy, practice, advocacy and law reform and we are delighted that one of the biggest international names in politics and in advancing the rights of children is now synonymous with this work.”

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The award comes just days after Clinton referred to the US president Donald Trump (her 2016 political opponent) as “an admitted sex assaulter” during an interview where she denounced the actions of Hollywood executive Harvey Weinstein.

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“[Weinstein has] been a supporter—he’s been a funder for all of us; for Obama, for me, for people who have run for office in the United States. So it was just disgusting and the stories that have come out are heartbreaking,” Clinton said in an interview with BBC’s Andrew Marr.

“But I think that it’s important that we not just focus on him and whatever consequences flow from these stories about his behaviour but that we recognise this kind of behaviour cannot be tolerated anywhere, whether it’s in entertainment, politics.

“After all, we have someone admitting to being a sexual assaulter in the Oval Office.”

The jab at Trump was in relation to the well-publicised recordings of his “grab them by the p****” comments that emerged during the election.

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Trump’s upcoming state visit to the UK was also downgraded earlier this week; the early 2018 trip will simply be a “working visit” that does not include having tea with the Queen, or staying at Buckingham Palace as her guest.

Former US president Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle Obama, stayed in the Belgian Suite at Buckingham Palace during their trip to London in 2011.

Clinton is currently in the UK to promote her memoir about the US presidential election, titled What Happened.