President Trump unleashed on British Prime Minister Boris Johnson over the United Kingdom’s decision to allow controversial Chinese technology firm Huawei to supply portions of its 5G wireless network.
The leaders spoke last week after the British government defied the United States in allowing Huawei to build noncore elements of the network. The U.S. has accused Huawei of having ties to China’s Communist Party and warned that equipment could be used by the Chinese state to spy on countries.
An individual briefed on the conversation told the Financial Times that Trump was “apoplectic” about the decision. Another official said the call was “very difficult.” British officials said they were shocked by Trump’s language toward Johnson.
After the decision, Vice President Mike Pence said the Trump administration made its disappointment “very clear” to its British counterparts.
In its readout of the call, the White House said the two leaders “discussed critical regional and bilateral issues, including telecommunications security.”
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sought to downplay any tensions between the countries, saying that “good friends don’t always agree on everything.”
American officials had threatened to stop sharing intelligence with allies who did not ban the company from their next-generation networks.
[Read more: ‘We can’t hold back’: British telecommunications executive urges Europe to go easy on Huawei]
