‘Trump berated May in call from Air Force One’
DONALD TRUMP berated Theresa May over her handling of Brexit and Iran in a fractious phone call from Air Force One, according to US newspaper reports.
The Prime Minister is said to have called the US president on Friday as he flew from America to Paris for events marking the centenary of the end of the F i r s t Wo r l d Wa r. T h e c a l l w a s to congratulate him on the Republican result in the mid-term elections, the Washington Post reported.
But it said Mr Trump berated Mrs May for not doing enough to contain Iran and also questioned her over Brexit and complained about trade deals with European countries which he sees as unfair. Mrs May’s aides were said to have been taken aback by the president’s “foul mood”, according to US and European officials briefed on the conversation. Downing Street has yet to comment on the report.
Insiders said Mr Trump’s mood was down to the mid-term wins for the Democrats and he had been “brooding” over the Florida result.
His supposed rant preceded a fractious visit, with him facing criticism for cancelling a scheduled visit to a US military cemetery in France because of bad weather. He went on to mock President Macron after an awkward Armistice Day visit, by claiming the French were learning German before the US intervened in the Second World War. He also again floated his regular threat of pulling the US out of Nato.
Ructions have also continued back in Washington with First Lady Melania Trump publicly calling for the sacking of deputy national security adviser Mira Ricardel over an alleged clash during Mrs Trump’s recent tour of Africa.
Her spokesperson said: “It is the position of the Office of the First Lady that she no longer deserves the honour of serving in this White House.”
Meanwhile US media reports said that Mr Trump is considering a further shake-up at the top of the White House, possibly sacking chief of staff John Kelly or homeland security secretary Kirstjen Nielsen.