US President Donald Trump has addressed the political upheaval gripping Westminster just two days before his visit to the UK.
Speaking to reporters on the White House lawn, the US commander-in-chief laid out the itinerary of his week-long trip to Europe in characterically blunt style. “I have Nato, I have the UK which is in somewhat turmoil, and I have Putin,” he said. “Frankly, Putin may be the easiest of all.”
The two-day working visit to the UK would be “an interesting time”, Trump added.
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Interesting, certainly, but Theresa May and her allies might also say inopportune. May’s premiership has been left hanging by a thread following the dual resignations of Brexit minister David Davis and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson from her cabinet in protest at the Prime Minister’s Brexit plans.
Asked if May should remain in No. 10, Trump “offered few words of reassurance” for the beleaguered PM, says The Independent.
“That’s up to the people,” he said, adding: “I get along with her very well.”
Unhappily for May, his most effusive praise was reserved for the outgoing foreign secretary.
“Boris Johnson’s a friend of mine, he’s been very nice to me, very supportive and maybe I’ll speak to him when I get over there,” Trump said. In case there was any doubt on the matter, he added: “I like Boris Johnson, I’ve always liked him.”
The two-day whirlwind tour, which will see the president take in London, Windsor and Scotland, is set to be an uncomfortable experience both for Trump and his hosts.
Officers from regional police forces will pour into London on Friday to help their Met Police colleagues contain the anticipated mass demonstrations. The Guardian reports that Trump’s visit has spurred the biggest police mobilisation in the capital since the 2011 riots.
White House sources have already raised concerns that the scale of the protests - which will include a giant blimp over Whitehall caricaturing Trump as a crying baby - could prompt the thin-skinned president to “lash out” at his hosts.
Trump’s “extraordinary comments” today will do little to assuage fears that the two-day visit will be a “diplomatic minefield”, says the Daily Mail.
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