Trump takes aim at May
President on the attack before arrival
US President Donald Trump left behind a contentious NATO gathering in Brussels and moved on to Britain, where he blasted Prime Minister Theresa May, blamed London’s mayor for terror attacks against the city and argued that Europe was “losing its culture” because of immigration.
Mr Trump, in an interview with The Sun newspaper, said he felt unwelcome in London because of protests, including plans to fly a giant balloon over Parliament that depicts him as an angry baby in a diaper.
“I guess when they put out blimps to make me feel unwelcome, no reason for me to go to London,” he said.
Mr Trump, in the interview given before he arrived in the UK, accused Ms May of ruining what her country stood to gain from the Brexit vote to leave the European Union. He said her former foreign secretary, Boris Johnson, would make an “excellent” prime minister — just days after he resigned his position in protest over Ms May’s Brexit plans.
Mr Trump added that Ms May’s “soft” blueprint for the UK’s future dealings with the EU would probably “kill” any future trade deals with the United States.
Mr Trump, who has compared his own election to the June 2016 referendum in which a majority of British voters supported leaving the EU, complained that the deal she was striking “is a much different deal than the one the people voted on”.
Details from Mr Trump’s interview became public as he was attending a black-tie din- ner with Ms May to welcome him to Britain.
Mr Trump also blamed recent terrorist attacks there on Mayor Sadiq Khan, who is a Muslim. The President claimed Europe was “losing its culture” because of immigration from the Middle East and Africa.
Mr Trump’s first event in England was an oasis of warm greetings at an evening reception at Blenheim Palace, birthplace of Winston Churchill, the British leader cited by the President as a model of leadership.