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LONDON – President Trump unveiled Thursday his position as an aggressive and disruptive diplomat, noisily disturbing NATO allies in Brussels, then, in a remarkable violation of the protocol, publicly criticized British Prime Minister Theresa May in an interview
In the interview given to The Sun, Mr. Trump guessed how May was addressing the main question: how should Britain cut off its ties with the European Union. He expressed doubts about his willingness to negotiate a new trade deal between Britain and the United States, and congratulated May's conservative party rival Boris Johnson on being a potential prime minister.
. Trump and Ms. May were finishing what seemed like a boring dinner at Blenheim Palace – earlier, they had walked inside holding hands – and one day before the President's scheduled meeting with Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle. The British government did not react immediately.
"I think the agreement that she concluded is not what people have voted on," Trump said in his interview, speaking about the "I'm not talking about it. Ms. May's approach. Britain's exit from the European Union, or Brexit, according to which the British economy would actually continue to be subject to many European regulations.
Speaking of Mr. Johnson, who resigned this week as Foreign Secretary to protest the Brexit strategy and who has long been considered likely to challenge it for his work, Mr. Trump said: " Well, I'm not trying to pit one against the other, I'm just saying that I think he would be an excellent Prime Minister. He must and I think he has the right attitude of being a great prime minister. "
After his combative performance in Brussels with the leaders of the 28 other NATO countries The day ended with a world tour Unlike any other recent US president, it signals a new twist of the "special relationship" between Britain and the United States.
The interview took place on Wednesday in Brussels, but the White House moved into damage control mode. After its publication Thursday night
"The President loves and respects Prime Minister May a lot," said Sarah Huckabee Sanders, spokeswoman for Trump, in a statement. "As he said in his interview with The Sun, she" is a very good person "and he" has never said anything bad about her. "
The statement says Mr. Trump" is grateful for the wonderful welcome of the Prime Minister here in the United Kingdom "
But in the interview with The Sun, Mr. Trump said that" it is a good thing. he had been made undesirable in London by the big protests planned against him and the hostility of the mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, who was a "I think your mayor has done a terrible job, but when they make you feeling bad, why would I stay here? "said Mr. Trump, referring to his decision to spend a short time in London. The president's comments were likely to stir up tensions within May's conservative party following Thursday's release of the government's plan to get out of the European Union, which would keep Britain tied to the rules of the country. European Union on goods and goods. agricultural product ts.
Ms. May argued for a free trade agreement with the United States and argued that Brexit was an "opportunity" to strengthen transatlantic ties and boost economic growth in Britain and the United States. -United. The British authorities hoped that Mr Trump's visit would contribute to this process.
Trump seemed to destroy those hopes. May's plan is to minimize the economic impact of Brexit, which could be serious because the European Union is Britain's largest trading partner. But Mr Trump seemed to side with pro-Brexit critics who argue that by retaining a lot of the EU's economic rules, this would inevitably reduce the possibility of a separate trade deal. with the United States.
On Thursday, May's proposal led to the resignation of three government ministers, including Mr. Johnson, the Foreign Secretary who had argued for a sharper break with the European Union.
"I would have done it differently," said Mr. Trump. "I told Theresa May how to do it, but she did not listen to me." Instead she went "in the opposite direction", and the results were "very unfortunate." Ms. May's approach towards Europe, Mr. Trump said, "that would likely end a relationship. Significant trade with the United States. "
Before arriving in Britain, Mr. Trump had described Mr. Johnson as a friend and said that he could be in touch with him during his visit to Britain, due to end Sunday after the president visited one of his golf complexes in Scotland.
When he resigned Monday as Foreign Secretary, Mr. Johnson violently attacked May's strategy for Brexit said that "the dream is dying, suffocated by unnecessary doubt."
In his interview, Mr. Trump has put a very negative tone on the European Union itself. "With the block."
"We are repressing At the moment, British companies are increasingly hearing about the risks of a clean break with the European Union, with warnings from Jaguar Land Rover and Airbus among others that they were able to leave the country, putting thousands of unemployed people out of work.
But Brexit supporters have sharply criticized Ms. May's Brexit plan and fear that after the negotiations with the US, there will be a lot of people. European Union, Could Be Further Diluted.
Trump's favorable comments about Mr. Johnson are therefore likely to be considered an implied criticism of Ms. May In his Monday resignation letter, Mr. Johnson said that, according to May's proposals, Britain "was really heading towards colony status."
Johnson once dubbed a Brexit customs plan and, in his comments, also accused May's government to lack courage. He compared his negotiating style with that of Mr. Trump, and he compared his new plan Brexit
In The Sun interview, Mr. Trump also renewed his criticism of Mr. Khan, the mayor of London, with whom he has clashed several times, and that has given the protesters permission to throw a giant orange balloon of the president portrayed as a baby in a diaper.
"Take a look at the terrorism taking place," said Trump. "Look what's happening in London, I think it's done a very bad job on terrorism."
The Sun's article broke just as a sumptuous dinner Ms. May's tie for Mr. Trump at the Blenheim Palace was breaking up, and the guests in formal dresses Chris Ruddy, the Newsmax chairman and a confidant of Mr. Trump who attended the dinner, said that there was no indication of tension between the President and Ms. May during the event itself, which he called "a festival of love between Britain and the United States. United."
"The President has always been for Brexit at full speed, but I'd really like to see the full interview in context," said Mr. Ruddy, suggesting that Mr. Trump's comments n & # 39 may not have been as direct as Ms. May's, as they were described in The Sun. "I went to talk directly with the president and the prime minister, and he said that the special relationship between the United States and Britain was better than ever."
The Sun published audio recordings of large parts of the interview
M. Ruddy said he had learned the interview as he was leaving Blenheim, and British friends started texting him expressing his astonishment and surprise at what Mr. Trump had said.
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