President Trump told British Prime Minister Theresa May on Friday that he believes Brexit will ultimately leave the United Kingdom better off.
In a joint press conference following their first face-to-face visit at the White House, Trump said Britain’s decision to leave the European Union “is going to be a wonderful thing.”
“When it irons out, you’re going to have your own identity and you’re going to have the people that you want in your country,” the president said, turning to face May. “And you’re going to be able to make free trade deals without having somebody watching you and what you’re doing.”
“I think it will go down that it will end up being a fantastic thing for the United Kingdom,” he added.
The president and May spent nearly an hour together in the Oval Office during their first meeting since Trump was sworn in as commander in chief. Both leaders were joined by a team of advisers, who listened intently as they discussed NATO, the possibility of a bilateral trade agreement and joint anti-terror operations in the Middle East.
“Today we are discussing a number of topics and there is much on which we agree,” May told reporters. “I think if you look at the approach that we’re both taking, one of the things that we have in common is that we want to put the interests of the ordinary working people right up there center stage.”
Trump and May each took two questions during the joint press conference before leaving to join senior White House staffers for a luncheon.
“Our talks will be continuing later, I’m sure,” May said shortly before waving the press goodbye.
