Donald Trump said Friday that President Obama was partly to blame for Britain’s decision to leave the European Union, and said Obama’s effort to weigh in on the “Brexit” referendum was “inappropriate.”
“If he had not said it, I think the result might have been different,” Trump said during a speech at the opening of his golf course in Scotland Friday.
“What I said, I said, ‘Don’t do what I’m saying, necessarily,'” Trump added, acknowledging that he had voiced support for Brexit prior to the vote Thursday.
Obama had encouraged British voters to opt for continued membership in the EU during a visit to the U.K. Hillary Clinton had also publicly supported the “Remain” side of the referendum.
“He came in and really tried to convince people to stay, and I thought it was inappropriate,” Trump said of Obama’s visit. “And I actually think that his recommendation perhaps caused it to fail.”
The presumptive Republican nominee said Obama had been “embarrassed” by the outcome of the referendum.
Trump also took aim at Clinton for her support of the “Remain” party, by saying she misread the situation in the U.K.
“She’s always misread everything,” he said. “The only reason she did it is because Obama wanted it.”
