Lisa Smart, a Liberal Democrat MP, said Saturday that Britain did not need "Trump's Maga money meddling in our democracy." [1] The U.S. embassy in London is offering grants of up to $500,000 for "public education" programs under a notice titled "Liberty Under Law: The Shared Anglo-American Tradition." Priority goes to freedom of speech and limited government.

The embassy said the money is not for partisan activity and that it has discontinued Biden-era spending on "climate justice," LGBTQ activism, and race-based hiring. [1] A serving or recently departed State Department official told the Guardian the topics were "a narrow vision of America First" and an attempt to "create UK-originated narratives to support Maga propaganda." [1]

The notice is separate from a reported $12 million State Department package aimed at groups founded by Jacob Rees-Mogg and Toby Young. [1] An open competition is not an awarded slate. Smart named the frame. The dollar has not moved.

The notice seeks programs that commemorate the 70th anniversary of the American Bar Association's Magna Carta memorial at Runnymede. [1] The ABA is not in the scheme and is suing the administration. Smart said Magna Carta limited tyrants and that Trump has shown contempt for the rule of law. The embassy answered that it had heard no such complaints when Biden-era grants funded other causes. A notice is still a notice.

-- CHARLES ASHFORD, London