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'Opposites attract': Theresa May signals strong relationship with Trump 'Opposites attract': Theresa May signals strong relationship with Trump
(about 3 hours later)
Theresa May said she can strike up a strong working relationship with Donald Trump because “opposites attract”, as she prepares to become the first world leader to meet the new US president. Theresa May has said she believed she could a forge a strong personal relationship with Donald Trump, arguing that “sometimes, opposites attract”, as she set out how post-Brexit Britain could work with his country to shape the world.
Amid concerns in the UK about whether she was “grovelling” to Trump, who sparked fresh outrage on Wednesday when he suggested torture was effective, May told reporters on a plane to the US on Thursday that the two would get on. On the eve of a much-anticipated visit to the Oval Office, the prime minister used a speech to Republican leaders in Philadelphia to pledge that the two countries “have a joint responsibility to lead”, but not as they did before.
Asked about the contrast between the brash, outspoken billionaire and the vicar’s daughter, May replied: “Haven’t you ever noticed, sometimes opposites attract?” May argued that a new “special relationship” would be nothing like the one between Tony Blair and George W Bush, which saw the pair collaborate in invading Iraq and Afghanistan. “The days of Britain and America intervening in sovereign countries in an attempt to remake the world in our own image are decisively over.”
Just landed in Philadelphia. Theresa May told us she's ready to strike up a good relationship with Trump because "opposites attract". Despite the growing controversy in the UK and worldwide about Trump’s remarks on the use of torture, as well as a series of other policies including the border wall with Mexico, May said she was determined to “deepen” links. She added: “It is in our interests – those of Britain and America together – to stand strong together to defend our values, our interests and the very ideas in which we believe.”
She also insisted that she would not be afraid to take Trump to task on the use of torture. “We have a very clear view: we condemn the use of torture, and my view on that won’t change, whether I’m talking to you, or talking to President Trump,” she told journalists en route to Philadelphia, where she was due to address senior Republicans before flying to Washington to meet Trump on Friday. Speaking to journalists on the plane to Philadelphia, the prime minister was asked about the contrast in temperaments between the brash billionaire and a vicar’s daughter, when she meets Trump in the White House on Friday. “Haven’t you ever noticed, sometimes opposites attract?” she replied.
May said Trump had made clear in their telephone conversations in recent days that he wants to work closely with her, saying: “There is a clear commitment on both sides not just to maintain the special relationship, but to build on the special relationship.” However, she also signalled that she would be prepared to deliver tough messages to the US president where their views differed, including on torture. On Wednesday, Trump had used his first TV interview as president to say he believed torture “absolutely” works and that the US should “fight fire with fire”.
She said the US president had expressed his support for Nato in their conversations, and she expected to discuss it with him, as well as trade, security, and the fight against Isis. Trump appeared to cast doubt on the US commitment to the military alliance in his recent interview with Michael Gove, when he suggested the institution was “obsolescent”. Responding, May said: “We have a very clear view: we condemn the use of torture, and my view on that won’t change, whether I’m talking to you, or talking to president Trump.” She also insisted Britain’s policy on refusing to use intelligence gained through illegal methods remained unchanged.
May said: “From the conversations I’ve already had with President Trump over the phone, he has shown to me his commitment to Nato as well. I believe a strong Nato has been the bulwark of our defence in Europe. Obviously that’s important in the UK national interest and I believe it’s important in the US national interest.” The prime minister has arrived in the US with the Trump administration less than a week old and proving to be more chaotic and unpredictable than any in modern US history. Mexico’s president, Enrique Peña Nieto, cancelled a scheduled visit to Washington next week to meet Trump, after the US president signed an executive order to move forward on construction of a border wall and repeated his claim that Mexico would be forced to pay for it.
Asked about what reassurance she could offer to British Muslims concerned about her appearing to befriend Trump – who has suggested banning all Muslims from entering the US, and has promised “extreme vetting” for some immigrants – May said: “I want to see an open and tolerant society, and I want a country that works for everyone.” She added: “The policies the US introduces are for the US to introduce.” May used the wide-ranging foreign policy speech to Republicans to underline the importance of Nato, which Trump has sometimes expressed scepticism about; and of standing up for allies, including those countries in Russia’s sphere of influence.
May’s visit is the culmination of a series of contacts between London and Washington since Trump won the US election in November. Her two closest advisers, Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy, met members of his team in December. The foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, has also visited Washington, to discuss laying the groundwork for a potential bilateral trade deal that the UK hopes could be signed as soon as possible after Brexit. “When it comes to Russia, as so often it is wise to turn to the example of President Reagan who – during negotiations with his opposite number Mikhail Gorbachev – used to abide by the adage ‘trust but verify’. With President Putin, my advice is to ‘engage but beware’, she warned.
Trump has suggested he is keen to do a deal with the UK, in contrast to his predecessor, Barack Obama, who said during the referendum campaign that London would be “at the back of the queue”. She added: “We should build the relationships, systems and processes that make cooperation more likely than conflict – and that, particularly after the illegal annexation of Crimea, give assurance to Russia’s neighbouring states that their security is not in question. We should not jeopardise the freedoms that President Reagan and Mrs Thatcher brought to Eastern Europe by accepting President Putin’s claim that it is now in his sphere of influence.”
The US president, speaking in Philadelphia at the Republican party’s annual retreat, said: “I’m meeting with the prime minister tomorrow. I don’t have a commerce secretary, and they want to talk trade, so I’ll have to do it myself. But that’s OK that’s OK.” That will be read as a strong message to Trump, who has been accused of being too close to Vladimir Putin, with the FBI even suggesting Russia may have used cyber-warfare in a bid to influence the election result.
However, sceptics point out that Trump is an avowed protectionist, who has already torn up the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal with countries including Japan, and said he wants to put “America First”. May also pointed to the need to “reduce Iran’s malign influence in the Middle East” as a key foreign policy priority, saying Britain would “support our allies in the Gulf States to push back against Iran’s aggressive efforts to build an arc of influence from Tehran through to the Mediterranean”. That appeared to be a significant strengthening of language since Britain reopened diplomatic relations with Tehran in 2015.
Asked whether she would be willing to offer US companies access to the NHS as the price of a deal, May said: “We are at the start of the process of talking about a trade deal … As regards the NHS, we’re very clear as a government that we’re committed to an NHS that is free at the point of use.” The prime minister also had warm words for Trump’s Republicans, telling them she was speaking, “as dawn breaks on a new era of American renewal”, and addressing them “not just as prime minister of the United Kingdom, but as a fellow Conservative who believes in the same principles that underpin the agenda of your party – the value of liberty, the dignity of work, the principles of nationhood, family, economic prudence, patriotism – and putting power in the hands of the people”.
May believes she and Trump share some values, saying: “I think we both share a desire to ensure that governments are working for everyone and particularly that governments are working for ordinary working families and working-class families. And I think that’s important.” May’s visit is the culmination of a series of contacts between London and Washington since Trump won the election in November. Her two closest advisers, Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy, met members of his team in December. The British foreign secretary, Boris Johnson also visited Washington earlier this month to discuss laying the groundwork for a potential bilateral trade deal that the UK hopes could be signed as soon as possible after Brexit.
Asked how she could avoid becoming the poodle of a US president – a charge often levelled against Tony Blair in his relationship with George W Bush – May said: “I’m going to be very clear in everything we do. I believe the special relationship is important to us, it’s important more widely across Europe and the world. It came as the prime minister faced growing pressure to warn Trump that the British government considers his comments about torture to be unacceptable.
“But I will also be very clear in the decisions I take and the conversations I have about UK interests. I’m not going to say anything different to Donald Trump to what I’m saying to you in terms of UK interests and where those lie.” Angus Robertson, the SNP’s Westminster leader and a member of parliament’s intelligence and security committee, asked: “How can the UK claim the relationship is special when it potentially involves torture?
The White House on Thursday also announced Trump’s first press conference as president would be held with May after their meeting on Friday. It had been believed the pair would avoid the traditional joint appearance for journalists, opting instead for a so-called “grip and grin” photo opportunity. “Theresa May must raise this with President Trump and explain the extremely damaging consequences that this policy would have on intelligence cooperation between allies.”
Trump’s press secretary, Sean Spicer, confirmed the question and answer session while speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Thursday. The US would “continue to talk about growing the relationship between America and the United Kingdom,” Spicer said. His comments came alongside similar pleas from Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, his predecessor, Ed Miliband, and the Lib Dems’ Tim Farron.
Trump is likely to use the public platform to reiterate his support for Brexit. But May could face awkward questions over his past criticisms of the EU and Nato and his recent comments in praise of torture. And there were outspoken interventions by Conservatives, including select committee chairs Andrew Tyrie and Sarah Wollaston. Wollaston argued that May’s suggesting the UK and US should “lead together” on a global stage was questionable when Trump was “advocating torture, disgusting racial stereotyping and turning back the clock on women’s rights worldwide”.
It will be Trump’s first press conference as president, and his second since last July. He has frequently lambasted what he calls “the dishonest media”. His most recent media interaction, at Trump Tower in New York, was a chaotic affair with questions over Russia holding compromising information about him and Trump accusing a CNN reporter of “fake news”. Trump has suggested he is keen to do a deal with the UK following the Brexit vote, in contrast to his predecessor, Barack Obama, who warned during the referendum campaign that London would be “at the back of the queue”. But sceptics point out that Trump is an avowed protectionist, who has already torn up the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal with countries including Japan, and said he wants to put “America first”.
Debut joint press conferences by US presidents and British prime ministers are always closely scrutinised for body language and mentions of the “special relationship”. When asked if he had discovered any common interests with Blair, Bush memorably said: “Well, we both use Colgate toothpaste.” In his own speech at the Republicans’ retreat in Philadelphia, Trump joked that with Congress so far refusing to confirm his candidate for commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, he would have to discuss trade with May himself. “I don’t have my commerce secretary; they want to talk trade; so I have got to handle it myself,” he said.
Asked whether she would be willing to offer US companies access to the NHS as the price of a deal, May said that it was only the “start of the process” of talking about a trade deal but added: “As regards the NHS, we’re very clear as a government that we’re committed to an NHS that is free at the point of use.”
Trump, with record-low approval ratings for a new president, has mounted sustained attacks on the press and staged abortive efforts to mend his relationship with the intelligence agencies, while his administrationfaces congressional and reported intelligence service investigations into the extent of collusion between his campaign and Moscow.