President Trump on Friday condemned a story released Thursday that cast doubt on his willingness to pursue bilateral trade negotiations with the United Kingdom, and said a deal “will absolutely be possible” once Brexit is complete.
Speaking at a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Theresa May, the president said he recorded his recent interview with The Sun and would share it with the press corps to set the record straight. The newspaper published a blistering article while Trump was at dinner with May Thursday evening that claimed he accused his British counterpart of “wrecking Brexit” and jeopardizing trade relations between the two countries.
“I didn’t criticize the prime minister,” Trump told reporters. “There was a story that was done – we record stories now. It’s called fake news. We solve a lot of problems with the good old recording instrument.”
“The only thing I ask of Theresa is that we can make sure we trade because we want to trade with the U.K. and the U.K. wants to trade with us,” he said. The Sun also released audio snippets of the interview online.
[Opinion: The Trump-May conference put the special back in the relationship]
Among other topics, the article published Thursday featured several surprising quotes from Trump about the current Brexit process, which drove two Cabinet ministers in the British government to resign this week due to frustrations about May’s handling of the situation.
The president described May’s strategy as “very unfortunate” in his interview with The Sun, claiming she went “the opposite way” of what he recommended.
But on Friday, Trump said he merely gave May “a suggestion” on how to leave the European Union and she likely found it “too brutal.”
“I gave her a suggestion, not advice. And I can fully understand why she maybe found it a little too tough,” he said. “Whatever you do is OK with me. Just make sure we can trade together, that’s all that matters.”
Trump said the time he’s spent with May during his first official visit to the UK also revealed that she’s “a tough negotiator.” He noted that he participated in breakfast, lunch and dinner with the prime minister on Thursday and was slated to spend more time with her before leaving for his Turnberry golf club on Friday.
“I’ve actually gotten to know her better than ever. I think she’s a terrific woman, and I think she’s doing a fantastic job,” he said, adding that Brexit is “a tough order.”
May put on a united front during Friday’s press conference, telling reporters there would be “no limit” to the possibility of bilateral trade agreements with the U.S following Brexit.
“At the end of these negotiations we will ensure that the free movement will come to an end, the ending of large sums of money to the EU every year will come to an end… and we will ensure that by not being part of the union that we will have an independent trade policy,” she said.
She also sought to downplay The Sun’s report about her “weak” Brexit plan, and said the UK “will be leaving the European Union.”
“A lot of people give me advice about leaving the EU,” she said in response to questions about Trump’s comments. “My job is to go out and do it.”
