Prior to his Friday visit to the United Kingdom, President Donald Trump gave an exclusive interview to The Sun in which he blasted British Prime Minister Theresa May for her handling of Brexit.
Trump claimed May ignored his advice on how to handle negotiations on Britain's exit from the European Union, which was approved by voter referendum in 2016. The president said May has gone "the opposite way" of what he had suggested and that the results have been "very unfortunate."
"She wrecked it."
But when pressed about the interview on Friday, Trump denied making incendiary claims against May, calling such reports "fake news" even though the interview was recorded.
"Fortunately, we tend to record stories now," Trump said. "We record when we deal with reporters. It's called 'fake news.'"
Reporters pounced on the president's "gaslighting."
Twitter slammed Trump for calling his own words "fake news."
This walk back of his recorded comments echoes a statement from White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders that seems to have been dictated directly by Trump.
British lawmakers slammed Trump's comments in the interview.
"Where are your manners," Parliament member Sam Gyimah tweeted.
Sarah Wollaston, a conservative member of Parliament, said Trump was “determined to insult” May. “The divisive, dog-whistle rhetoric in his Sun interview is repulsive," she added. "If signing up to the Trumpworldvieww is the price of a deal, it’s not worth paying.”
Ben Bradshaw, who belongs to the Labor Party, wrote: “Our prime minister is so weak she still rolls out the red carpet for a man who does nothing but insult her. Humiliating.”
“The theory that if we are nice to Trump he’ll be nice to us doesn’t seem to be going brilliantly," former Labor Party head Ed Miliband tweeted on Friday.
Others on Twitter joined in the harsh rebukes of Trump's criticism of the British Prime Minister.
"Trump's a racist," one user wrote.
Another person said the president's "behavior" is intended to "disrupt" and "destabilize Europe."
Referring to Trump's "manners," one follower of Gyimah said, "he has none."
"He's a narcissist and dangerous."
Others expressed dismay over Trump's invite to the U.K., which one person said was "ill-conceived."
Lest we forget, a giant baby Trump blimp is drifting over London today as thousands of protesters fill the streets of the British capital. Trump attended a lunch with May in Chequers and had his schedule changed to avoid being exposed to the London protests.
“I guess when they put out blimps to make me feel unwelcome, no reason for me to go to London,” Trump told The Sun. “I used to love London as a city. I haven’t been there in a long time. But when they make you feel unwelcome, why would I stay there?”
In his interview with The Sun, Trump also:
Accused EU leaders of destroying its culture and identity by allowing in millions of migrants
Tore into London Mayor Sadiq Khan for not standing up to terrorists
Blamed Khan for spiralling crime in the capital
Insisted former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson would make “a great Prime Minister”
Denied once branding Theresa May a “bossy schoolteacher”
Maintained he would keep ties with Russian tyrant Vladimir Putin despite the Salisbury Novichok poisonings
Demanded Britain and other Nato countries spend more on defence
Spoke of his sadness at feeling unwelcome in the capital by anti-Trump protesters
Claimed millions of Brits backed his policies
Told of his pride at taking wife Melania to meet the Queen
May has proposed sticking with an EU rulebook that would keep customs borders open for the exchange of goods and agriculture. But Trump said doing so would kill any potential future trade deal with the United States.
“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," Trump told the British publication. “If they do that, then their trade deal with the US will probably not be made.”
Trump continued: "we have enough difficulty with the European Union," adding that the EU hasn't "treated the United States fairly on trading."
No, if they do that I would say that that would probably end a major trade relationship with the United States.
Trump then took a swing at May's future as Prime Minister, telling The Sun that Boris Johnson, Britain's former Foreign Minister who resigned last Monday and May's chief political arch-rival, would “make a great Prime Minister" because "he's been very nice to me."
