May faces questions about torture stance
“It’s a great honour to have Winston Churchill back,” Trump said. The bust had been moved from the Oval Office to another part of the White House when Barack Obama held the office.
Trump and May were seen holding hands briefly as they walked along the White House colonnade before the news conference. Afterward, they resumed their talks while dining in the State Dining Room on iceberg wedge salads, braised beef short ribs and salted caramel crème brûlée.
May’s visit, so soon after Trump’s inauguration, has been criticized by her political opponents, and risks being overshadowed by the flood of announcements, plans and proposals coming out of the White House. On Thursday, May was repeatedly asked about Britain’s stance on torture — the U.K. has condemned it — after Trump said he thinks torturing terrorism suspects works.
Trump reversed himself somewhat on Friday, saying that his defence secretary’s opposition to torture would override his own belief that enhanced interrogation “does work,” addressing concerns about a return to Bushera use of waterboarding and other especially harsh procedures.
Since taking office, Trump has signalled a renewed embrace of torture in the fight against Islamic extremism. But he said he would defer to the views of his defence secretary, James Mattis, who has questioned the effectiveness of such practices as waterboarding, which simulates drowning.
“He has stated publicly that he does not necessarily believe in torture or waterboarding, or however you want to define it — enhanced interrogation I guess would be a word that a lot of ... words that a lot of people would like to use. I don’t necessarily agree. But I would tell you that he will override because I’m giving him that power. He’s an expert,” Trump said. He called Mattis a “general’s general,” whom he would rely upon.
“I happen to feel that it does work. I’ve been open about that for a long period of time. But I am going with our leaders. And we’re going to win with or without. But I do disagree.”
Two issues — whether Trump would allow the use of torture and the U.S.-Mexico relationship — dominated the new president’s brief news conference after his first meeting with another world leader.
Trump is something of a mystery to world leaders, so May is a bit of a scouting party — or guinea pig — among global politicians.
She has strong reasons for wanting the relationship to work. Britain is set to leave the European Union and its 500 million-person single market. A trade deal with the U.S., Britain’s biggest export market, is a major prize.
Trump has drawn parallels between Britain’s choice to leave the EU and his own success, using the Brexit vote to bolster his derision of the 28-nation bloc and his preference for striking bilateral agreements.
That puts May in an awkward spot. She wants a good relationship with Trump, but does not share his disdain for the EU, saying it’s in Britain’s interests that it succeed.