President Donald Trump took the opportunity of being at the Globalist World Economic Forum Davos meeting Thursday to meet and speak with British Prime Minister Theresa May, praising the close bond between the nations and looking forward to mutual jobs growth from increasing trade.
Speaking at a press call after the meeting between the two leaders, the first such the President had after arriving at Davos, President Trump moved to put an end to accusations that the special relationship between the United States and United Kingdom had come under harm in the past 12 months.
Sitting next to Prime Minister May and reaching out to shake her hands in a gesture of goodwill, President Trump said: “…it’s an honor to be with Prime Minister May. We’ve had a great discussion – we’re on the same wavelength, I think, in every respect. And the Prime Minister and myself have had a really great relationship, although some people don’t necessary believe that, but I can tell you it’s true.
“I have tremendous respect for the prime minister and the job she’s doing. And I think the feeling is mutual from the standpoint of liking each other a lot.
“There’s a false rumour out there, I just wanted to correct it, frankly. We have great respect for everything you’re doing, we love your country, we think it is truly great. We are working on trade actions and economic development… most importantly the military. We are very much joined at the hip when it comes to the military, we have the same ideas and the same ideals.”
Donald Trump predicts "tremendous increases" in trade between US & UK after future trade talks between the two countries #Davos2018 #wef18 https://t.co/TRIAXmCi6W pic.twitter.com/VBYAm3NZw3
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) January 25, 2018
Making clear the two nations remained bound in a military alliance of mutual defence, President Trump remarked: “There’s nothing that would happen to you where we wouldn’t be there to fight for you, you know that. I just want to thank you, it is is a great honour to be here with you.”
Thanking the President for his remarks, Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May replied: “we’ve had a great discussion today, and we continue to have that really special relationship between the UK and the United States, standing shoulder to shoulder because we face challenges around the world.
“As you say, we are working together to defeat those challenges and to meet them. Alongside that, we are working for a good trade relationship in the future which will be to both of our benefits. The UK and the US, will both do well out of this and it has been great to see you today.
Closing the meeting, the President responded: “…one thing that will be taking place over many years will be trade, and trade is going to increase many times. We look forward to that but the trade discussions that will be taking place will be leading to tremendous increases of trades between our countries and that’s great for both in terms of jobs. We look forward to that, and we are starting that process as we speak.”
Answering a question from the press, President Trump confirmed he and Prime Minister May would be talking about a forthcoming state visit in due course.
The forthcoming state visit to the United Kingdom for the president was first discussed in January 2017 when May flew to Washington to meet President Trump — the first global leader to do so since he took office. While the relationship between the two initially seemed promising, British domestic actors including the Labour mayor of London Sadiq Khan have piled on pressure to prevent the visit of President Trump, with relations further souring over May’s criticism of President Trump’s use of Twitter.
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