Trump, May in tweet spat
Some UK politicians call to cancel President’s visit
Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday repeated her condemnation of US President Donald Trump’s retweets of anti-Muslim videos posted by a British far-right leader but said US-UK relations would survive the row.
“I’m very clear that retweeting from Britain First was the wrong thing to do,” she said on a visit to Jordan in images broadcast on British television, before adding that ties with Washington were “enduring.”
The British government sought Thursday to play down the extraordinary row Trump after he castigated Prime Minister Theresa May for rebuking him over anti-Muslim tweets, even as individual politicians expressed outrage.
Plunging headlong into a highprofile spat with one of the US’ closest partners, Trump suggested May focus on defending Britain rather than criticizing him after he retweeted anti-Muslim videos from a British far-right group.
“@Theresa_May, don’t focus on me, focus on the destructive Radical Islamic Terrorism that is taking place within the United Kingdom. We are doing just fine!” Trump tweeted late Wednesday, after initially sending the same message to a wrong Theresa May.
May’s spokesperson had earlier condemned as “wrong” his decision to retweet the deputy leader of Britain First, and numerous MPs called for the government to cancel plans for Trump to make a state visit.
Called to make an emergency statement in the House of Commons on Thursday, Interior Minister Amber Rudd said Britain First was “an extremist organization” which used “hateful narratives” to stoke community tensions.
But while Trump had erred in promoting the group, she urged MPs to “look at the wider picture,” saying the UK’s close intelligence cooperation with the US had “undoubtedly saved British lives.”
May’s spokesperson also emphasized that the US was “our closest, most trusted ally. We continue to work together on a huge range of very important issues.”
However, he rejected criticism of May’s record, saying that as prime minister and formerly interior minister – and after dealing with a string of terror attacks this year – she was “fully focused on dealing with extremism.”
May was the first foreign leader to visit Trump following his inauguration in January, keen to encourage the much vaunted UK-US “special relationship,” and offered him a state visit to Britain.
But the controversy over the invitation has only grown, with opposition led by London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who has himself been involved in a string of spats with Trump.
Khan said Thursday that it was “increasingly clear that any official visit at all from President Trump to Britain would not be welcomed.”
May’s spokesperson said, “the offer of a state visit has been extended, it has been accepted and we will set out more details in due course.”