MAGGIE MAY PM is president’s new Thatcher

DONALD Trump has taken to calling Theresa May “my Maggie”.

He wants to have as close a relationship with the PM as Ronald Reagan had with Margaret Thatcher in the eighties.

Mr Trump, who was inaugurated on Friday, wants Mrs May to officially unveil the bust of Winston Churchill in the Oval Office when she visits the White House.

At their first meeting in Washington this week she will be invited to unveil the bust as a symbol of the special relationship between the US and the UK.

Downing Street is yet to confirm the timing of the visit. But an insider said the PM was “expected” to fly out this week.

A source close to the President said: “She will be invited to unveil the bust as a sign that the special relationship is back, front and centre on a scale not seen since Maggie.

“Trump already refers to her as “My Maggie” but the question remains CAROLINE WHEELER in WASHINGTON D.C. whether he is a Ronnie to her?” When they meet, Mrs May and Mr Trump will have informal discussions about a free trade agreement between the two countries.

Yesterday the PM said she was “confident” of striking a deal despite Mr Trump’s America First strategy.

Mrs May added: “We can look at areas even in advance of being able to sign a formal trade deal.

“Perhaps we could look at barriers to trade at the moment and remove some of those barriers to open up that new trading relationship.”

She said she would hold “very frank” talks about other subjects.

Mr Trump telephoned the PM just hours after winning the Presidential race in November. He is said to have talked of his hope of reviving the close UK-US axis which led the West throughout the 1980s.

According to Downing Street sources, Mr Trump made it clear he is keen to have a good personal relationship with Mrs May and used Reagan-Thatcher as his “reference point”. Mrs May has said that although she does not want to “emulate” models from the past, she is confident they can have a “very special relationship”.

But insiders fear they may not hit it off because of differences in personalities and temperament.

A source said: “Trump is not one for dancing around handbags.

“If he likes you, he likes you but if he doesn’t he will not hold back in letting you know.”

Downing Street’s frosty attitude towards former Ukip leader Nigel Farage could also be a problem.

The source added: “Trump just doesn’t get why they refuse to use Nigel Farage – someone he now regards as a close personal friend – as a go-between.

“It is highly likely that this will come up when the pair have their meeting.”