Trump urges Britain to go for no-deal Brexit
US president urges UK to be 'very careful' about involving Chinese tech giant Huawei in its new 5G network
US President Donald Trump. PHOTO: AFP
LONDON:
Britain should go for a no-deal Brexit with the EU and refuse to pay the agreed £39 billion (45 billion euros, $50 billion) divorce bill, US President Donald Trump told the UK's The Sunday Telegraph newspaper on the eve of a visit to London.
The comments by America's outspoken leader came after he told The Sun newspaper he thought former foreign secretary Boris Johnson would make an "excellent" prime minister to take over from Theresa May, the current leader who is to resign June 7 after failing to get her EU divorce text through parliament.
Trump is to embark on a three-day state visit to Britain from Monday, during which he will meet Queen Elizabeth II and have talks with May.
In his interview with The Sunday Telegraph, he urged Britain's government to follow his rule book in negotiating deals when it came to Brexit.
"If they don't get what they want, I would walk away... If you don't get the deal you want, if you don't get a fair deal, then you walk away," he said.
On the divorce bill - Britain's liabilities as it leaves an economic and political bloc it has been part of since 1973 - Trump told the newspaper: "If I were them I wouldn't pay $50 billion. That is me. I would not pay, that is a tremendous number."
The US president, who is proud of his disruptive influence on politics in America and abroad, also said Britain's anti-EU and populist politician Nigel Farage, head of the Brexit Party, should be involved in negotiating his country's exit from the European Union.
"He is a very smart person" with a "lot to offer", said Trump, although he acknowledged that British authorities "won't bring him in".
Trump to end trade privileges for India on June 5
A majority of British voters decided in a 2016 referendum to leave the European Union. The exit was meant to have happened in March this year but as been pushed back twice as Britain has been locked in an impasse on how to achieve it.
The ruling Conservative party under May and the parliament are riven by what sort of Brexit they want: either a total break from the EU, or a closer relationship that implies accepting EU rules on trade and immigration.
After failing repeatedly to get her vision of Brexit passed, May has been forced to announce she will step down on Friday. More than a dozen Conservative MPs have thrown their hat in the ring to take over as party leader and prime minister, with Johnson seen as an early favourite.
Britain is hoping Trump's visit will bolster its ambitions to work out a free trade deal with the United States if Brexit means a go-it-alone trade policy.
Some Conservatives and the opposition Labour party, however, fear Britain would be steamrolled by the far bigger US into accepting an unbalanced accord, especially given Trump's "America First" stance in shaking up trade ties with Mexico, Canada, Japan and China.
Large protests are planned during Trump's visit to London.
The mayor of the capital, Sadiq Khan, said Sunday in a piece in The Observer newspaper that the US president was "one of the most egregious examples" of a growing global threat from the far-right.
Khan said Trump's "divisive behaviour flies in the face of the ideals America was founded upon - equality, liberty and religious freedom".
He added that populist politicians such as Farage and Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban "are using the same divisive tropes of the fascists of the 20th century to garner support, but are using new sinister methods to deliver their message".
'Be very careful over Huawei and 5G'
President Trump also urged Britain to be "very careful" about involving Chinese tech giant Huawei in its new 5G network.
Asked about reports that Britain is planning to give the firm a limited role, Trump told the Sunday Times newspaper: "Well, you have other alternatives and we have to be very careful from the standpoint of national security."
He added: "You know we have a very important intelligence gathering group, that we work very closely with your country (Britain) and so you have to be very careful."
The US has long voiced suspicions that Huawei is controlled by the Chinese government and thus a global security threat - charges strongly denied by the firm and by Beijing.
Prime Minister Theresa May's government has insisted a decision has not yet been made on Huawei's involvement in building a 5G network in Britain.
Trump said he believed "things will all work out, you'll see".
Britain should go for a no-deal Brexit with the EU and refuse to pay the agreed £39 billion (45 billion euros, $50 billion) divorce bill, US President Donald Trump told the UK's The Sunday Telegraph newspaper on the eve of a visit to London.
The comments by America's outspoken leader came after he told The Sun newspaper he thought former foreign secretary Boris Johnson would make an "excellent" prime minister to take over from Theresa May, the current leader who is to resign June 7 after failing to get her EU divorce text through parliament.
Trump is to embark on a three-day state visit to Britain from Monday, during which he will meet Queen Elizabeth II and have talks with May.
In his interview with The Sunday Telegraph, he urged Britain's government to follow his rule book in negotiating deals when it came to Brexit.
"If they don't get what they want, I would walk away... If you don't get the deal you want, if you don't get a fair deal, then you walk away," he said.
On the divorce bill - Britain's liabilities as it leaves an economic and political bloc it has been part of since 1973 - Trump told the newspaper: "If I were them I wouldn't pay $50 billion. That is me. I would not pay, that is a tremendous number."
The US president, who is proud of his disruptive influence on politics in America and abroad, also said Britain's anti-EU and populist politician Nigel Farage, head of the Brexit Party, should be involved in negotiating his country's exit from the European Union.
"He is a very smart person" with a "lot to offer", said Trump, although he acknowledged that British authorities "won't bring him in".
Trump to end trade privileges for India on June 5
A majority of British voters decided in a 2016 referendum to leave the European Union. The exit was meant to have happened in March this year but as been pushed back twice as Britain has been locked in an impasse on how to achieve it.
The ruling Conservative party under May and the parliament are riven by what sort of Brexit they want: either a total break from the EU, or a closer relationship that implies accepting EU rules on trade and immigration.
After failing repeatedly to get her vision of Brexit passed, May has been forced to announce she will step down on Friday. More than a dozen Conservative MPs have thrown their hat in the ring to take over as party leader and prime minister, with Johnson seen as an early favourite.
Britain is hoping Trump's visit will bolster its ambitions to work out a free trade deal with the United States if Brexit means a go-it-alone trade policy.
Some Conservatives and the opposition Labour party, however, fear Britain would be steamrolled by the far bigger US into accepting an unbalanced accord, especially given Trump's "America First" stance in shaking up trade ties with Mexico, Canada, Japan and China.
Large protests are planned during Trump's visit to London.
The mayor of the capital, Sadiq Khan, said Sunday in a piece in The Observer newspaper that the US president was "one of the most egregious examples" of a growing global threat from the far-right.
Khan said Trump's "divisive behaviour flies in the face of the ideals America was founded upon - equality, liberty and religious freedom".
He added that populist politicians such as Farage and Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban "are using the same divisive tropes of the fascists of the 20th century to garner support, but are using new sinister methods to deliver their message".
'Be very careful over Huawei and 5G'
President Trump also urged Britain to be "very careful" about involving Chinese tech giant Huawei in its new 5G network.
Asked about reports that Britain is planning to give the firm a limited role, Trump told the Sunday Times newspaper: "Well, you have other alternatives and we have to be very careful from the standpoint of national security."
He added: "You know we have a very important intelligence gathering group, that we work very closely with your country (Britain) and so you have to be very careful."
The US has long voiced suspicions that Huawei is controlled by the Chinese government and thus a global security threat - charges strongly denied by the firm and by Beijing.
Prime Minister Theresa May's government has insisted a decision has not yet been made on Huawei's involvement in building a 5G network in Britain.
Trump said he believed "things will all work out, you'll see".