White House: Trump didn't reject United Kingdom state visit

"I am not a big fan of the Obama administration having sold perhaps the best located and finest embassy in London for "peanuts", only to build a new one in an off location for 1.2 billion dollars", the president tweeted on Thursday.

Mr Trump also criticised the location of the new building in Vauxhall, south London, as an "off location", adding: "Wanted me to cut ribbon-NO!"

Trump's cancellation was met with humour on social media, with parodies of the president's tweet trending on Twitter.

But experts believe that's not the real reason for the cancellation.

In response to the cancellation, London Mayor Sadiq Khan celebrated the news, saying the USA president "is not welcome here".

The spokesman added: "A state visit (invitation) has been extended and accepted and we will confirm the details in due course".

"As a junior foreign service officer, I signed an oath to serve faithfully the president and his administration in an apolitical fashion, even when I might not agree with certain policies. He is not welcome in London and he certainly isn't welcome in Queenstown", he said.

Indeed, many in London believe the US president anticipated a horde of protesters would meet him there, as the billionaire-turned-politician has elicited much negative energy among many liberal groups in London, due to a perception - whether true or not - that he has discriminated against Muslims and Hispanics.

Some British lawmakers questioned whether Trump would be welcome in London because of previous tweets and criticism of Muslims and his sniping at London Mayor Sadiq Khan in the aftermath of a terror attack in that city past year.

Donald Trump can't make it to London so Madame Tussaud's museum has set up a waxwork Trump outside the U.S. embassy in Battersea. "It seems he's finally got that message", the London mayor tweeted.

The mayor, a member of the main opposition Labour party, said there would have been "mass peaceful protests", and that it had been a "mistake" to invite him.

The snub, reported by the Daily Mail, would be the second blow to Mr Trump and the UK's relationship.

The new United States embassy in London will open January 16. "That is not likely to change at any point in the foreseeable future", West said.

Facebook groups organizing for Trump's planned February visit called for one of the largest protests Britain had ever seen.

As an American living in London, however, I was embarrassed: not, for once, because of the behaviour of my president, but for my British hosts. "The US and United Kingdom are strong, resilient partners and allies; we do more together than any other two countries in the world".

On Friday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders refuted the speculation that the trip Trump canceled was an intended lower profile version of a state visit to Britain.