“”The prime minister and myself have had a really great relationship.”
Nicholas Kamm/Getty Images
President Donald Trump will make his first official visit to the United Kingdom in July, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Thursday.
During a “Take Your Daughters and Sons to Work Day” press briefing, Sanders told reporters and their children alike that Trump will make his way across the pond July 13. There, Trump will meet with British Prime Minister Theresa May after months of will-they-won’t-they speculation.
Sources familiar with planning details told CNN on Wednesday that the July event will be categorized as a “working visit,” which consists of far less pomp and circumstance than what was seen at the recent state visit of French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte. There is a possibility that Trump may meet with Queen Elizabeth II, though those plans are not yet finalized, the sources added.
Trump previously postponed a trip to the U. K. after a bubbling controversy over plans set into motion by former President George W. Bush to move the U. S. embassy in London. The president, however, blamed the “bad deal” on former President Barack Obama.
“Reason I canceled my trip to London is that I am not a big fan of the Obama Administration having sold perhaps the best located and finest embassy in London for ‘peanuts,’ only to build a new one in an off location for 1.2 billion dollars,” Trump tweeted in January.
“Bad deal. Wanted me to cut ribbon-NO!” he added.
However, the “special relationship” between the U. S. and one of its oldest allies saw an uptick recently when the U. K., France, and the U. S. participated in coordinated airstrikes in Syria in response to a deadly chemical weapons attack brought out by the regime.
The two leaders recently met at the World Economic Forum in Davos. There, Trump remarked on the strong working relationship between the pair.
“The prime minister and myself have had a really great relationship, although some people don’t necessarily believe that, but I can tell you, I have a tremendous respect for the prime minister and the job she’s doing,” Trump said. “And I think the feeling is mutual from the standpoint of liking each other a lot.”
Brittany Shepherd covers the White House for IJR. Before becoming the White House Correspondent, Brittany used to cover entertainment and pop culture… more
