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DOWNING STREET HAS defended its Brexit deal with the EU, after US President Donald Trump warned it would make it impossible for the two nations to strike a future trade agreement.
The president, whose impeachment in the US has moved a stage closer following a key vote in Congress, waded into the British election campaign yesterday to criticise Johnson’s divorce terms with the European bloc.
“This deal… you can’t do it, you can’t trade. We can’t make a trade deal with the UK,” he said.
But a Downing Street spokesman later said the deal would allow the UK to strike “our own free trade deals around the world from which every part of the UK will benefit”.
Trump’s comments appear at odds with his previous pledge in September that he was working closely with Johnson to strike a “magnificent trade deal” once Britain left the EU.
The US president also launched a stinging attack on the country’s main opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn and urged Johnson to unite with eurosceptic hardliner Nigel Farage, a key figure in the 2016 referendum on European Union membership.
“Corbyn would be so bad for your country,” Trump told Farage during a phone interview broadcast on his talk show on British radio station LBC.
“He’d take you in such a bad way. He’d take you into such bad places.”
“I’d like to see you and Boris get together … I think it’d be a great thing,” Trump added.
Farage, whose new Brexit Party is campaigning for Britain to leave the EU without any deal in place, has urged Johnson to form an electoral alliance but has so far been rebuffed.
He is due to launch his party’s election campaign today.
‘Trump trying to interfere’
Within minutes of the interview airing, Corbyn shot back on Twitter that “Trump is trying to interfere in Britain’s election to get his friend Boris Johnson elected”.
Johnson agreed new divorce terms with the bloc’s leaders earlier this month, ahead of the country’s scheduled departure yesterday.
But he was unable to push the plan through parliament and instead opted to hold a snap pre-Christmas election, blaming his Labour rivals for the latest Brexit delay and promising to now take the country out by a new 31 January deadline.
“If you vote for us and we get our programme through, which we will … we can be out, at the absolute latest, by January next year,” Johnson said during a campaign stop yesterday at a hospital.
The Conservative leader is riding high in opinion polls going into the 12 December vote that will be Britain’s third in four years.
But he risks a backlash over his unkept “do or die” promise to deliver Brexit on 31 October – and has again set himself up for another potential fall by promising to meet the next deadline.
Pro-EU campaigners and business executives have breathed a sigh of relief that Britain avoided a Halloween Brexit nightmare that could have seen it crash out of the EU after 46 years without a plan.
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Why on earth doesn’t the AFP/writer/Journalist just not say DT is talking through his …. again.
The writing implies they take his words as meaningful when we all know he doesnt know what he had for breakfast after just eating it.
@iohanx: well he probably had a McDonald’s for breakfast
On @LBC Trump says the NHS would absolutely not be park of a US trade deal.
“No it’s not for us to be involved with your health system… We have to sort out our own health service! We’re just talking trade.”
That bit was left out for some reason. Genuine error I presume
@Joseph Lyons: He has said in the past it is on the table, now he says it isn’t. He also changed a federal weather report with a Sharpie,so Its safe to say you should take anything Trump says with a large pinch of salt.
@Ben Dunne: you are correct on that. But it was one of the main points in the conversation and something that is argued regularly. The author decided to leave it out for some reason though. I’m merely pointing it out
@Joseph Lyons:”No it’s not for us to be involved in your health service… we have to sort out our own health service. We’re just talking trade.” You do realise that it the US government wouldn’t get involved in the NHS anyway and that it would be multinational corporations right and access to the UK health service market could be part of a trade deal. What Trump has said in no way precludes US corporations from becoming involved with the NHS through a trade deal, just the US government.
@Diarmuid Hunt: again I’m not arguing that.
@Joseph Lyons: Fair enough, I wouldn’t be too worried about it being left out of the article so, it was an absolutely inane comment that really is only stating what everyone knows (or at least should know) already, great for a soundbite but other than that useless and without meaning.
I think most people understand Trump doesn’t know what he’s talking about. A buffoon who changes his mind more than the wind changes. He’s not a serious leader and his utterances are largely ignored in international politics.
Donald trump is a disgrace. Any advice from him should be just forwarded straight to the laughter lounge
A U.S. president commenting on individuals in the UK political system like its some sort of banana Republic……… And another piece of the UKs reputation disappears.
@Barry Ryan: if only wishing made it so.
I’m delighted hat Trump is Trying to interfere in UK elections. His stupid incompetent bungling will cause thinking people NOT to vote Tory. ANTI Farage voters will also jump ship. Happy days. Keep up the good work Trumpy.
@Patricia Mcnamara: I know because sitting on the fence corbyn would be such a success, he must have some amount of splinters on he’s backside at this stage, pathetic alternative.
@Liam O Connor: I said that at the last election with a different leader labour would have won easily. Same thing may happen here except the rabid right might just eat themselves instead.
I think trump is the real worlds Eric Cartman.
@Gerald OBrien: nah, Cartmans an evil genius.
Why is the journal deleting comments responding to “Joseph Lyons”?
Ha, ha, 46 years without a plan :-)
The Irish Government should use its diplomatic relations with the United States to encourage President Trump to support the Withdrawal Agreement struck between Boris Johnson’s government and the European Union. Through back-channels, the Irish Government should beseech President Trump to use his friendship with Nigel Farage to encourage Mr Farage to support pro-Leave, pro-deal Conservative Party candidates in key constituencies, and to not try to steal critical votes away from them which could result in a chaotic Jeremy Corbyn government in the UK.
Russia interferes in US election and US interferes in UK election. That was a nice injection of support Trumpet just gave to Labour. He certainly gave voters something to think about there. Now we might yet see an entertaining election campaign among our neighbours across the water. Game on!
The picture used is like a still from “Dumb and Dumber”
Who does Johnnie little foreigner think he is coming over here telling us what to do? Oh wait?…
Now lads!! Take a look at the pair that are being entrusted with our interests,,, yup, the two boys are a serious pair of achievers, yup, thems the lads! God help us!!!!!!
Downing Street is a male. You learn something new every day
It won’t accept the correction link above so posting from here, the first line makes it look like Downing street is a person when talking about his deal.
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