May’s rage at Trump over spy poisonings
He refused to lead response against Russia
THERESA May sounded on the verge of “screaming or crying” as she tried to persuade Donald Trump to take a stand against Russia after the Salisbury novichok attack.
The claim emerged as leaked diplomatic notes revealed the US President initially rejected the then-Prime Minister’s call for America to join UK measures against Vladimir Putin’s regime.
May had urged Trump to expel Russian diplomats after the poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal and daughter Yulia.
But Trump said he would “rather follow than lead”, the leaked notes show.
In a phone call in spring 2018, he said: “I’m not willing for the US to go first and then have others not to do anything. Germany has to do something.” One US official who listened to the call told a colleague May got so frustrated her voice cracked and they thought she would either “scream or start crying”.
But former May aides said her voice would often crack, regardless of emotion.
Eventually, Trump agreed to expel 60
Russian diplomats, more than any other nation. He was later said to be furious as Germany and France expelled four each.
He was at times “hectoring” towards May and would ask other world leaders what they thought of her, the notes claim. He is said to have asked her: “Why isn’t Boris Johnson the Prime Minister? Didn’t he want the job?”
It also emerged Johnson, who was Foreign Secretary, told US diplomats Trump was “making America great again”.
He is quoted telling the US ambassador to Britain in 2017 that the President was doing “fantastic stuff ” on foreign policy issues.
He also claimed Trump was becoming “increasingly popular” in Britain in 2017 – despite polls showing the opposite.
The notes, taken by US officials, could get the PM dragged into the US election battle, against diplomatic convention.
No10 said: “The PM is committed to the extremely important relationship between the UK and US and enhancing the work we do together to ensure the prosperity and security of our citizens.”