This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/jul/13/fake-news-trump-backtracks-over-criticism-of-may-brexit-plan

The article has changed 7 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
'Fake news': Trump backtracks over criticism of May Brexit plan 'Fake news': Trump backtracks over Brexit criticism of May
(about 2 hours later)
Donald Trump has rolled back from his criticism of Theresa May, telling a joint press conference with the British prime minister that he supports a post-Brexit US trade deal with the UK, and that it was “fake news” to suggest otherwise. Donald Trump has rowed back from his criticism of Theresa May, telling a joint press conference he supports a post-Brexit US trade deal with the UK, but adding that his advice to the prime minister had been “too brutal” for her to take.
In a sometimes rambling performance following talks with May at her country retreat of Chequers, the US president dismissed comments made in an interview with the Sun that was published on Thursday night. After holding the prime minister’s hand as they walked down the steps to the press conference podium, Trump stood beside May at her country retreat of Chequers and delivered a rambling broadside which covered Brexit, trade, Nato and the “fake news” he said had been reported about their relationship.
“I didn’t criticise the prime minister. I’ve got a lot of respect for the prime minister,” Trump told reporters. The press conference was held after their talks at the Buckinghamshire estate, away from large protests in London, and covered an extraordinary amount of ground in which Trump:
In his interview, published while May hosted a dinner for him at Blenheim Palace, Trump said the prime minister’s painstakingly constructed Brexit plan would “kill” Britain’s chances of a US trade deal, the same warning made by her party’s most ardent Brexiters. Warned May not to walk away from a deal with the EU.
Trump said the interview omitted his praise of May, and that his staff had taped the interview: “It’s called fake news and we solve a lot of problems with the good old recording instrument.” Said a US-UK trade deal was still possible as May insisted there was “no limit” to future negotiations.
The president repeated his belief that immigration in Europe had caused terrorism and was eroding culture. “I do not think it’s good for Europe, and it’s not good for our country,” he said. Accused the Sun of not including “all the nice things” he had said about May in its exclusive interview, but then decscribed the piece as “generally fine”.
May, in contrast, praised immigration for the benefits it had brought to the UK. Said immigration was “changing the culture” of Europe.
After the pair’s talks at Chequers, during which they said they discussed Iran, North Korea, Russia and mutual trade, Trump dismissed the idea that May’s Brexit plan would make a trade deal with the US impossible. At times, Trump made attempts at diplomacy, toning down the comments quoted in his Sun newspaper interview that May had failed to follow his advice on Brexit. Instead, he spoke about giving her an unspecified “suggestion” rather than advice, adding: “I think she maybe found it too brutal.”
“I don’t know what you’re going to do, but whatever you do is OK with us. Just make sure you can trade with us, that’s all that matters,” he said to May. However, in remarks that may confuse some Brexiters, the president also said he did not mean the UK should walk away from EU negotiations without a deal.
After the diplomatic explosion of the overnight interview, May and Trump sought to play up their closeness, referring to each other by their first names. “If she walks away, that means she’s stuck. You can’t walk away, but you can do other things,” he said. He declined to elaborate on what advice he had offered May, saying it was “respectfully submitted”.
“The relationship between our two nations is indispensable to the cause of justice and peace,” Trump said. The US president said he had apologised to May for the Sun article when they met over breakfast and that she had told him: “Don’t worry, it’s only the press”.
He said the US-UK relationship was “the highest level of special” and that May was “an incredible woman right here doing a fantastic job”.
In remarks which will bring some relief to Downing Street, Trump said he now understood that May’s Brexit plan would not make a trade deal with the US impossible and suggested he had underestimated May’s negotiating skills.
“I don’t know what you’re going to do [about Brexit], but whatever you do is OK with us. Just make sure you can trade with us, that’s all that matters,” he said to May. “I read reports where that won’t be possible, but I believe after speaking with the prime minister’s people and representatives and trade experts it will absolutely be possible.”
May also sought to underline the benefits of the Chequers deal, as MPs in Westminster voiced concern that it would prohibit new comprehensive trade deals.
“There will be no limit to the possibility of us doing trade deals around the rest of the world once we leave the European Union on the basis of the agreement that was made here at Chequers and that I’ve put forward to the European Union,” she said.
After the diplomatic explosion of the overnight interview, May and Trump sought to play up their closeness, referring to each other by their first names. “The relationship between our two nations is indispensable to the cause of justice and peace,” Trump said.
In the earlier interview, published while May hosted a dinner for him at Blenheim Palace, Trump said the prime minister’s painstakingly constructed Brexit plan would “kill” Britain’s chances of a US trade deal.
Trump said the interview omitted his praise of May, and that his staff had taped the interview: “It’s called fake news and we solve a lot of problems with the good old recording instrument.” The Sun has already published its own audio recording of the interview.
The president repeatedly stressed his belief that immigration in Europe had caused terrorism and was eroding culture, an assertion May made some attempt to counter.
“I think it’s been very bad for Europe. You see the same terror attacks that I do,” he said. “I know it’s not necessarily politically correct to say that, but I’ll say it, and I’ll say it loud. I think they’d better watch themselves because they’re changing a lot of things.”
Downing Street had hinted in advance they were expecting a more emollient tone from the president.Downing Street had hinted in advance they were expecting a more emollient tone from the president.
Trump had suggested in the interview that the recently departed foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, would make a good prime minister and that the current Brexit framework would prevent a US-UK trade deal. Trump spoke warmly about the reception he had received at Blenheim Palace with his wife, Melania, saying he “felt sorry for others on the table” because he and May were engaged in such deep conversation. “I think we probably never developed a better relationship than last night,” he said.
“If they do a deal like that, we would be dealing with the European Union instead of dealing with the UK, so it will probably kill the deal. If they do that, then their trade deal with the US will probably not be made,” he said. at the press conference however, Trump repeated the suggestion from his Sun interview that the recently departed foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, would make a good prime minister, as May stood beside him stony-faced.
Trump accused the prime minister of ignoring his advice on Brexit negotiations, in remarks that echoed Johnson’s private barbs that the US president would do a better job than May in negotiations. “I said he’ll be a great prime minister. He’s been very nice to me, he’s been saying very good things about me as president,” he said.
“I would have done it much differently. I actually told Theresa May how to do it, but she didn’t agree, she didn’t listen to me. She wanted to go a different route,” he said. A spokesman for the Sun said: “We stand by our reporting and the quotes we used – including those where the president was positive about the prime minister, in both the paper and in our audio – and we’re delighted that the president essentially retracted his original charge against the paper later in the press conference. To say the president called us ‘fake news’ with any serious intent is, well … fake news.”
“The deal she is striking is a much ­different deal than the one the people voted on. It was not the deal that was in the referendum.”
On Friday he rephrased his account, saying that he had given “a suggestion” to May over Brexit, not advice. He added: “I think she maybe found it too brutal.”
Downing Street and the White House had attempted some damage control overnight and on Friday morning. The White House press secretary, Sarah Sanders, insisted the president “likes and respects Prime Minister May very much”.
“As he said in his interview with the Sun she ‘is a very good person’ and he ‘never said anything bad about her’.”
The chancellor, Philip Hammond, who was doorstepped by reporters in Brussels, said Trump made his comments because he “hasn’t yet had a chance to discuss the white paper with the PM”.
No 10 sent the Foreign Office minister Sir Alan Duncan out to bat on the airwaves, where he insisted the interview had not been damaging and the visit would “most definitely” be a success.
“Donald Trump is in many ways a controversialist, that’s his style,” Duncan told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. “I don’t think we see it as rude.
“We have received him with dignity and generous hospitality, and I hope that that will be the mood music within which there will be the serious discussions we always have in our engagement with the United States.”
Other ministers were not in such a generous mood. The culture minister Margot James tweeted: “No Mr President @POTUS Boris Johnson would make a terrible PM,” while the universities minister, Sam Gyimah, tweeted: “Where are your manners, Mr President?”
Earlier on Friday, May and Trump watched a counter-terrorism demonstration by UK and US special forces at Sandhurst, before their bilateral talks at Chequers, which focused on trade and Brexit, and also covered Russia and the Middle East.Earlier on Friday, May and Trump watched a counter-terrorism demonstration by UK and US special forces at Sandhurst, before their bilateral talks at Chequers, which focused on trade and Brexit, and also covered Russia and the Middle East.
After Chequers, Trump was due to fly to Windsor Castle for tea with the Queen, an interaction upon which Downing Street has been pinning its diplomatic hopes, given Trump’s oft-professed love for the royal family. May presented Trump with an illustrated ancestral chart of his Scottish heritage through his mother, Mary Anne Macleod, a story Trump referenced repeatedly throughout the press conference. Melania Trump received a bespoke perfume by J Floris, called The First Lady, and engraved with her initials.
The itinerary means he will avoid the mass protests in London and other cities across the country. A Trump baby balloon was being flown over Westminster and an estimated 70,000 people were expected to take part in the marches in the capital.
Donald TrumpDonald Trump
Theresa MayTheresa May
Foreign policyForeign policy
US foreign policyUS foreign policy
newsnews
Share on FacebookShare on Facebook
Share on TwitterShare on Twitter
Share via EmailShare via Email
Share on LinkedInShare on LinkedIn
Share on PinterestShare on Pinterest
Share on Google+Share on Google+
Share on WhatsAppShare on WhatsApp
Share on MessengerShare on Messenger
Reuse this contentReuse this content