Donald Trump backtracks on NHS after outcry
US President tells Good Morning Britain health service 'not part of trade'

Donald Trump has appeared to backtrack on his controversial comments that the NHS would be “on the table” in any post-Brexit trade talks with the UK.
“I think everything with a trade deal is on the table,” he had said at a news conference with Theresa May.
“When you're dealing in trade, everything is on the table - so NHS or anything else, a lot more than that, but everything will be on the table, absolutely.”
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
However, speaking earlier today to Good Morning Britain he struck a different note.
Asked about the issue, he told Piers Morgan: “I don’t see it being on the table. Somebody asked me a question today and I said everything’s up for negotiation because everything is.
“But I don’t see that as being… that’s not something that I would consider being part of trade. That’s not trade.”
Trump’s original remarks about the NHS were the most eye-catching to come from his news conference. According to The Sun, they sparked a “massive row” as well as provoking a “cross-party backlash”, The Guardian says.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Several Tory leadership contenders rejected the idea. “If Boris Johnson is prime minister the NHS will never be on the negotiating table,” a source close to the former foreign secretary told The Times.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock tweeted: “Dear Mr President. The NHS isn't on the table in trade talks - and never will be. Not on my watch.” Esther McVey echoed the comments: “The NHS would not be on the table in any trade deal I negotiated with the US.”
Rory Stewart declared he would not be “offering up” the NHS in any trade deal, Dominic Raab said the NHS “is not for sale” and “never would be if I was prime minister”, while Sam Gyimah said the health service should not be used as a “bargaining chip”.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn tweeted that a sell-off of the NHS is “what Tory leadership contenders and Farage are lining up for the no-deal disaster capitalism plans they have”. He added: “They all need to understand: our NHS is not for sale.”
The Brexit spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, Tom Brake, said Trump’s suggestion was a “disgrace”. But Nigel Farage, the Brexit Party leader said it was “wilful misinterpretation” to suggest a US trade deal would open the NHS to privatisation.
Today, on the final day of his visit to the UK, Trump will join the Queen and the prime minister in Portsmouth to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
Commenting on how Trump’s three-day visit has been treated by Theresa May, the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg said: “For any prime minister, handling a president like Donald Trump is like trying to hold on to a Ming vase walking across a recently polished, slippery parquet floor.”
-
Russia: already at war with Europe?
Talking Point As Kremlin begins ‘cranking up attacks’ on Ukraine’s European allies, questions about future action remain unanswered
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
‘This isn’t just semantics’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Miami Freedom Tower’s MAGA library squeeze
THE EXPLAINER Plans to place Donald Trump’s presidential library next to an iconic symbol of Florida’s Cuban immigrant community has South Florida divided
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US
-
YouTube to pay Trump $22M over Jan. 6 expulsion
Speed Read The president accused the company of censorship following the suspension of accounts post-Capitol riot