Trump hails ‘new Churchill’
DONALD TRUMP has told Theresa May that she could become this generation’s Winston Churchill, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.
The US president made the comparison with Britain’s wartime leader during a phone call between the pair on Dec 19 last year.
Mr Trump explained how he had watched the film Darkest Hour, starring Gary Oldman as Churchill, and recommended Mrs May see it. “You could be this generation’s Churchill,” Mr Trump added, or words to that effect, according to three sources familiar with the call. Figures both in the White House and Downing Street confirmed the remarks. The Prime Minister’s reaction is unknown.
One source said the comment came after Mrs May noted Churchill had been voted the greatest Briton ever – an apparent reference to a 2002 BBC poll. While the remark was not an explicit
reference to Brexit, it comes as Mrs May leads the biggest change to the UK’S relationship with Europe for generations.
Mrs May and Mr Trump will meet today for the first time since he cancelled his UK visit earlier this month, leading to claims of a snub.
The talks in Davos, Switzerland, are expected to touch on the Syrian civil war, the Iran nuclear deal and the stand-off with North Korea.
The Prime Minister will also use a speech to warn social media giants that they risk becoming “the terrorists’ platform” and “first choice app for paedophiles”.
Addressing the World Economic Forum, Mrs May will say such companies “simply cannot stand by” when wrongdoing occurs and urge investors to pressure them into taking down extremist content.
She will say that radicalising messages and videos should be removed “automatically” and urge US tech companies to put their “brightest and best” on the issue. “Technology companies still need to go further in stepping up to their responsibilities for dealing with harmful and illegal online activity,” Mrs May is expected to say.
“These companies simply cannot stand by while their platforms are used to facilitate child abuse, modern slavery or the spreading of terrorist and extremist content.”
Mrs May and Mr Trump have had a rocky relationship since he took office. The Prime Minister became the first foreign leader to meet the president after his inauguration last January.
However, the UK state visit offered then has not yet taken place and Mr Trump cancelled a smaller “working visit” last month.
Mrs May has also opposed Mr Trump’s decision to pull the US out of the Paris climate change agreement and seek new conditions for the Iran nuclear deal.
However, sources on both sides of the Atlantic have told this newspaper that the pair have a surprisingly warm relationship during phone calls, given their different personalities.
“Theresa, you’re doing a fantastic job, Brexit is going to be great,” is often the president’s message, according to a UK government source.
The delay in visiting Britain is due to Mr Trump’s concern over protests rather than any personal falling out between the two leaders, Whitehall figures believe.
Bloomberg yesterday reported that Mr Trump told Mrs May he would not visit the UK unless she could promise a warm welcome.
The news agency also quoted Katie Perrior, Mrs May’s former communications director, as saying it was a mistake to offer Mr Trump a state visit so soon.
In a separate development, Mrs May has issued a personal plea to women to take a smear test, admitting that while it is “not a comfortable thing to do” it saves lives.