President Donald Trump talks of UK turmoil ahead of visit
The UK is in “turmoil” and “it is up to the people” whether Theresa May stays as prime minister, Donald Trump has said ahead of his first visit to the country as US President.
Mr Trump told reporters before leaving Washington there were “a lot of things going on” in the UK at the moment.
He said he got on well with Mrs May and had “always liked” Boris Johnson, who quit as foreign secretary on Monday.
Mr Trump arrives on Thursday after attending the Nato summit.
The US President is set to arrive in the UK on the same day as the government publishes its White Paper setting out in more detail Mrs May’s controversial offer to the EU on future relations after Brexit.
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Both Mr Johnson and former Brexit Secretary David Davis, who has also quit, have expressed fears it will tie the UK too closely to the EU and make it harder to do trade deals with countries like the US.
The US President has previously expressed sympathy for Brexit and said he wanted to do a quick trade deal with the UK once it had left the EU.
‘Interesting time’
Asked about his forthcoming visit, Mr Trump referred to the turbulence of the past 48 hours, which has prompted speculation about Theresa May’s future as leader.
“It is going to be an interesting time in the UK and an interesting time at Nato,” he told reporters on the lawn of the White House. “We will work it out and all countries will be happy.
“So I have Nato, I have the UK – that’s a situation with turmoil.”
Asked about Mrs May’s future, he said it was a matter for the British people. “I get along with her very well. I have a very good relationship. That’s certainly up to the people, not up to me.”
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As for Boris Johnson, Mr Trump said he was a “friend of mine” and he hoped he might find time to speak to him during his visit.
“He’s been very, very nice to me, very supportive. I like Boris Johnson, I’ve always liked him.”
The ex-foreign secretary, who warned in his resignation letter on Monday that the “Brexit dream was dying”, has spoken of his “increasing admiration” for Mr Trump and speculated about what Brexit negotiations would be like if he was in charge.
‘Dependable ally’
During his visit, Mr Trump will hold talks with Theresa May, who will also host a dinner for him at Blenheim Palace. He is also due to have tea with The Queen at Windsor Castle.
Protests are expected against Mr Trump, whose policies – including a travel ban on a number of predominantly Muslim countries, the detention of child migrants on the US-Mexico border and the imposition of tariffs on EU steel and aluminium exports – have all been criticised by the UK.
Mrs May has insisted the UK’s strategic and historic links with the US mean hosting its US president is essential and that the best way to deal with Mr Trump is to challenge him in person and make it clear where the UK disagrees with him.
After being appointed foreign secretary on Monday, Jeremy Hunt said the UK would be a “dependable ally, a country that stands up for the values that matter to the people of this country and will be a strong and confident voice in the world”.
Mr Hunt urged all ministers to stand behind the prime minister “so that we can get through an agreement with the European Union based on what was agreed by the cabinet last week at Chequers”.
On Monday evening, the prime minister faced down backbench critics at a meeting of the 1922 committee of Conservative MPs, amid rumours they were close to getting the 48 signatures needed to trigger a no-confidence vote that could spark a leadership election.
She told her critics the alternative to the party coming together could be a left-wing Labour administration, with Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister.
Another prominent Brexiteer, Environment Secretary Michael Gove, said he had “absolutely not” considered resigning and declared himself “100%” behind Mrs May’s Brexit plan.
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