01:53 – Donald Trump tackles Theresa May and shower her hopes of a trade deal



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Donald Trump showered the hopes of British Prime Minister Theresa May: there will be no free trade agreement with Washington if it maintains a close economic relationship with the EU after Brexit, a new coup from penknife to the "special relationship" with London.

"If they make such an agreement, we would deal with the European Union instead of dealing with the United Kingdom, that will probably kill the agreement" that London is eager to conclude with Washington, he warned. in an interview with the UK tabloid The Sun.

The British government on Thursday presented details of its plan on the future relationship between the UK and the EU after Brexit in March 2019, which provides for set up a new "free trade area for goods", intended to maintain a "friction free" trade with the 27 EU members.

In this interview before his arrival Thursday afternoon in the UK for an official visit, Donald Trump regretted that Theresa May did not listen to his advice to be tougher in negotiations with Brussels.

"I would have done it very differently, I actually told Theresa May how to do it but she did not agree," he said, believing that she had committed on a path that does not correspond to the British vote for an EU withdrawal in the 2016 referendum.

– "The closest allies" –

Mr. Trump's harsh words come as the United Kingdom United has rolled out the red carpet in the hope of concluding a free trade agreement with the United States, "the closest allies but also the most dear friends" according to Theresa May.

She insisted on the strength of the transatlantic link, despite a series of snags since the billionaire came to power, welcoming the president and his wife Melania for a gala dinner at Blenheim, near Oxford Thursday night.

This is a slap for the head of the executive who tries to rebadert his authority over his conservative party divided on Brexit.

The president is not at his first attempt: he had already criticized the Prime Minister's strategy on Brexit after a NATO summit in Brussels on Thursday. She replied that the government's proposals "respond to the British vote".

M. Trump has hammered home the idea that former British Foreign Minister Boris Johnson, potential challenger for Theresa May, who resigned because of a Brexit deemed too soft, would make "a big prime minister".

What a chill in bilateral talks with Theresa May scheduled for Friday at Checkers, the country residence of British prime ministers, northwest of London. In addition to trade, exchanges will focus on Brexit, Russia and the Middle East.

– "Nightmare" –

Donald Trump's official visit to the United Kingdom, where he will have tea with Queen Elizabeth II on Friday, takes place in a controversial climate, with many demonstrations hostile to his presence.

Hours after landing in London, he was greeted by the boos of a few hundred people in front of Winfield House, residence of the US ambbadador in Regent's Park, where the presidential couple spend their first night.

Amnesty International deployed a 15-meter banner on a bridge overlooking the Thames, facing the US embbady, ​​calling Mr. Trump a "human rights nightmare".

The most mbadive protest is expected to gather tens of thousands of people on Friday in Trafalgar Square in the British capital. A giant balloon representing Trump in diapers, whose deployment was authorized by the mayor of London Sadiq Khan, will also float in the sky near the Parliament.

"This protest is not anti-American, far from it Most of those who march on Friday like the United States, like me, "he said in a statement.

"But having a special relationship means that we expect the highest values ​​from each other, and that also means saying when the values ​​that are dear to us are threatened," he added.

The Labor MP is also the target of Trump's attacks on The Sun for "doing a miserable job" of crime and bombings in the British capital.

After this official visit, the presidential couple will spend the weekend privately in Scotland, where Mr Trump has two golf courses, before a historic bilateral summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday in Helsinki.

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