Former U.S. President Donald Trump will not be visiting the American cemetery in Margraten, despite an invitation from the mayor to commemorate eighty years of freedom. The municipality of Eijsden-Margraten confirmed that Trump declined the invitation.

The invitation was extended for a commemoration at the war cemetery. The reason for Trump’s refusal has not been disclosed.

The invitation coincided with the upcoming NATO summit in The Hague, scheduled for June 24 and 25.

Prior to the decision, approximately 4,800 residents of the municipality, nearly a fifth of the population, signed a petition protesting the invitation.

The petition was created in opposition to the invitation for the commemoration.

The American cemetery in South Limburg serves as the final resting place for over eight thousand American soldiers who died in the Second World War.

Franklin Boon, a faction member and co-initiator of the petition, stated that the soldiers buried in the cemetery sacrificed their lives to defend freedom and democracy in the Netherlands. He added that Trump’s presence was unwelcome due to his perceived undermining of these values.