BRUSSELS (AP) – The Latest on President Donald Trump’s trip to Europe (all times local): 12:55 a.m. President Donald Trump says he’s…
BRUSSELS (AP) – The Latest on President Donald Trump’s trip to Europe (all times local):
12:55 a.m.
President Donald Trump says he’s not nervous about meeting Queen Elizabeth II on Friday.
Trump tells The Sun newspaper that the queen is „a tremendous woman. I really look forward to meeting her. I think she represents her country so well.“
The president says one reason he admires the queen is that through all the years she has represented her country, „she has really never made a mistake.“
He adds: „You don’t see, like, anything embarrassing.“
The queen, the president and first lady Melania Trump are expected to have tea at Windsor Castle on Friday.
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12:40 a.m
President Donald Trump says he doesn’t feel welcome in London, and he blames that in part on Mayor Sadiq Khan.
The American president reveals in an interview with The Sun newspaper that he has been told about a 20-foot „Trump baby“ balloon that will be flown above Parliament Square on Friday as protesters march.
He told the tabloid that’s part of why he’s spending so little time in the city, saying, „I guess when they put out blimps to make me feel unwelcome, no reason for me to go to London.“
Trump blames the atmosphere and recent terrorist attacks there on Khan, who is a Muslim. Khan has been outspoken against Trump’s Muslim policy in the United States. Trump says Khan has done a „terrible job“ standing up to terrorists.
Khan gave protesters permission to fly the 20-foot-tall balloon depicting Trump as an angry baby in a diaper.
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12:30 a.m.
President Donald Trump says Europe is „losing its culture“ because of immigration from the Middle East and Africa.
Trump tells The Sun newspaper in an interview published Thursday that he is the descendant of immigrants from Germany and Scotland. But, he says, „Allowing the immigration to take place in Europe is a shame.“
„I think it changed the fabric of Europe and, unless you act very quickly, it’s never going to be what it was and I don’t mean that in a positive way.“
He added: „I think you are losing your culture. Look around. You go through certain areas that didn’t exist ten or 15 years ago.“
It wasn’t clear what areas he meant. The explosive interview was published during Trump’s visit to Europe.
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12:25 a.m.
President Donald Trump says he thinks Britain’s ex-foreign Secretary Boris Johnson would make an „excellent“ prime minister.
The comment was published in The Sun newspaper just as Trump was leaving a black-tie gala hosted by current British Prime Minister Theresa May during Trump’s maiden visit to the U. K. as president.
Trump tells the paper just days after Johnson resigned his post in May’s government that Johnson is „a very talented guy“ and that he likes him „a lot.“ He adds: „I think he would be a great Prime Minister. I think he’s got what it takes.“
Trump also says that he was „very saddened“ to see Johnson was leaving government and said he hoped „he goes back in at some point.
Trump adds: „I think he is a great representative for your country.“
But asked directly whether he thinks Johnson might someday replace May, he declined to comment, saying he wasn’t interested in „pitting one against the other.“
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12:20 a.m.
President Donald Trump has accused British Prime Minister Theresa May of ruining what her country stands to gain from Brexit and says her „soft“ blueprint for the U. K.’s future dealings with the European Union would probably „kill“ any future trade deals with the United States.
Trump tells The Sun newspaper during his first visit to the U. K. as president on Thursday that, „If they do a deal like that, we would be dealing with the European Union instead of dealing with the U. K., so it will probably kill the deal“.
Trump, who has compared the June 2016 referendum in which a majority of British voters supported leaving the EU to his own election that year, said: „The deal she is striking is a much different deal than the one the people voted on.“
He also told the tabloid that he had shared advice with May during Britain’s negotiations with the EU, but says May ignored his advice.
Details from Trump’s interview with the paper became public as he was attending a black tie dinner with May to welcome him to Britain.
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9:15 p.m.
President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, are being greeted with pomp and circumstance, along with protesters, as he arrives at spectacular Blenheim Palace for a gala dinner.
Anti-Trump protesters with critical signs are lining the roadway leading to the palace near Oxford.
But it’s unlikely the Trumps even saw them.
Instead, the couple arrived via helicopter and was driven by presidential limousine onto the property, where they were welcomed by British Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip.
The couples then enjoyed a performance by a large British military marching band wearing traditional bearskin hats.
The performance included a bagpiper playing „Amazing Grace.“
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9:10 p.m.
First lady Melania Trump is wearing a yellow silk pleated chiffon dress by New York-based J. Mendel to a gala at Blenheim Palace.
She paired the off-the-shoulder gown with floor-length pleated sleeves with matching silk pumps by Manolo Blahnik.
President and Mrs. Trump are having dinner at the palace with British Prime Minister Theresa May and her husband Philip. Blenheim Palace is Winston Churchill’s birthplace.
A similar dress in emerald, originally priced at $6,990, can be found online for $4,194.
J. Mendel’s website says the design house is a fifth-generation French atelier now based in New York.
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8: 15 p.m.
President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, are on their way to a black-tie gala at Blenheim Palace near Oxford, England where they’ll be joined by British Prime Minister Theresa May.
The dinner is Trumps‘ official welcome to the U. K. during their first visit since Trump’s election. The president wore a tuxedo and Mrs. Trump wore a pale yellow gown as they boarded a helicopter to the gala.
Audible jeers could be heard from protesters as Marine One lifted off from London.
Blenheim Palace is the birthplace of Winston Churchill, for whom Trump has expressed admiration.
He reinstalled a bust of Churchill in the Oval Office shortly after his inauguration and screened the 2017 film „Darkest Hour“ at the White House last winter in a sign of his affinity for the British leader.
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6:15 p.m.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says that despite President Donald Trump’s fire-and-brimstone approach to this week’s summit, the U. S. president has had an impact on the commitment by alliance members to boost their individual military spending.
Stoltenberg says Thursday that „the clear message from President Trump is having an impact.“
Since taking office, Trump has been criticizing most alliance members for not spending more on their militaries and pressing them to do more.
Stoltenberg says Trump’s approach is paying off. The NATO secretary-general says allies have added $41 billion extra for defense spending – a figure he cited on Wednesday.
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2:50 p.m.
President Donald Trump has arrived in Great Britain for his first visit as president amid NATO tensions, protests and Brexit turmoil.
Air Force One has landed at London Stansted Airport, where Trump is beginning a four-day visit to the country.
Trump will attend a gala dinner Thursday with British and American officials at Blenheim Palace, the ancestral home of former Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
On Friday, Trump will meet with Prime Minister Theresa May and Queen Elizabeth II and then spend the weekend at one of his private golf courses in Scotland.
Widespread protests of Trump are expected during his visit to the U. K., which comes during a tumultuous week for May’s government as it seeks to navigate the Brexit process. Trump is arriving following a chaotic NATO summit.
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1:20 p.m.
U. S. President Donald Trump is forecasting an unspecified „escalation“ between the U. S. and Iran.
Trump also says Iran is treating the U. S. with more respect, though there is no evidence to support Trump’s claim.
Trump withdrew the U. S from the Iran nuclear deal earlier this year, reinstating economic sanctions that had been lifted under a deal among Iran, the U. S. and other world powers in exchange for curbs on Iran’s nuclear program.
Trump was asked about Iran at a news conference in Brussels, where he wrapped up his participation in a NATO summit.
He says Iran is feeling a lot of pain as a result and that at some point Iran will „call me and they’re going to say let’s make a deal, and we’ll make a deal.“
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1:20 p.m.
French President Emmanuel Macron has rejected President Donald Trump’s claim that NATO allies have agreed to boost defense spending beyond 2 percent of Gross Domestic Product.
Macron said: There is a communique that was published yesterday. It’s very detailed.“
He added: „It confirms the goal of 2 percent by 2024. That’s all.“
The summit statement affirms a commitment made in 2014 after Russia annexed Crimea that NATO allies would halt defense spending cuts and start spending more as their economies grow, with the aim of moving toward 2 percent of GDP within a decade.
