After Blasting UK Over Brexit, Donald Trump Says Relationship Very Strong
All in just 24 hours in Britain.
Speaking to The Sun ahead of last night’s gala dinner at Blenheim Palace, Trump said the prime minister’s soft Brexit blueprint will mean the end of any future trade deal with the US.
The “millions and millions of people” who are immigrating to Europe is “very, very sad”, Trump said, telling The Sun that “allowing the immigration to take place in Europe is a shame”.
The Financial Times also runs with Mr Trump “switching tack” as he aims to “mend bridges”.
But Trump did have many bad things to say about Theresa May, criticizing her handling of Brexit and even hinting that he would support challenger Boris Johnson to become prime minister.
He left a trail of double-talk and chaos that has become a pattern in the USA president’s recent overseas travels.
“Where are your manners, Mr President?”
“The reaffirmation of the British-U.S. relation we saw at the press conference will probably assuage some of the doubts we have seen about the status of the relationship”, Parakilas said.
“So if they go in a slightly different route [on Brexit] – and I know they do want independence. if they are going to go in a certain route I just said that I hope you are going to be able to trade with the United States”.
It seems likely that Trump’s complaint will focus on two words that appear inside quotation marks in the tabloid’s headline – the idea that May “wrecked it”, referring to Brexit. Britain will leave the bloc in March, but the two sides have not yet agreed on what sort of relationship they will have after that.
Trump, who had accused May of taking too long to quit the European Union in the Sun interview, acknowledged that talks to leave the bloc are “not an easy negotiation to be sure” and said that the deal Britain reached “is OK with me”, before adding “just make sure we can trade together”.
The dinner offered much of the pomp and circumstance of a state visit – with a military band, red carpet and ornate surroundings – even though Trump’s stop in the United Kingdom is officially not.
After the question was posed to the USA president, the reporter appeared to be ushered out of the room at Chequers, the official residence of the PM.
After this, Trump will go to have tea with the Queen at Windsor Castle.
May was looking forward to sitting down with Trump to talk him through the negotiating stance at Chequers, her spokesman said when asked about the Trump comments.
“I am not pitting one against the other”, Trump said of Johnson and May.
But the truth is that Trump’s attack could weaken May’s already fragile hold on power.
Referring to the plan outlined on Thursday in which Britain would aim to keep strong ties in trading of goods with the European Union, he said: “The deal she is striking is a much different deal than the one the people voted on”.
The former Foreign Secretary was praised by the US President in a controversial interview with the Sun.
“We have this stupidity going on, pure stupidity, but it makes it very hard to do something with Russia because, anything you do, it’s like: “Russia, oh he loves Russia”, Trump said at the press conference before news of the indictment.
Trump, this week, has praised Johnson, and called him his “friend”.
Trump has insisted the US-UK relationship is “the highest level of special”.
Trump, as he has before, criticized London’s mayor, Sadiq Khan, as having “done a very bad job on terrorism”.
“Except, I wouldn’t want to expose Londoners to any unnecessary risk of meeting Donald Trump”. He’s been saying very good things about me as president.
Trump has frequently angered British politicians. The President is racist.
Although bowing and curtsying is not a mandatory practice, it is thought to be good manners and nearly everyone who meets the Queen does it.