Trump and May meet on second day of U.K. state visit – live updates

FAN Editor

President Trump and outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May restated the alliance of their two nations in a news conference Tuesday, even as the president repeated criticisms of some leaders in Britain.

The joint news conference in London comes just three days before May’s resignation. May was forced to announce that she would step down after parliament refused three times to back her proposed plan for the U.K.’s withdrawal from the European Union.

Mr. Trump has criticized May’s handling of the “Brexit” negotiations with Europe, suggesting she should have taken a harder line with Brussels. But he refrained from expanding on that criticism Tuesday, praising the way May has handled the situation.

Special Report: Trump holds press conference with outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May

Read Monday’s coverage of the president’s first day visiting London.

Trump’s adult children on the state visit

Mr. Trump’s adult children who are not employed by the administration — Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr., and Tiffany Trump — have been present for much of the state visit and had front seats at the Trump-May press conference as well. The White House has not offered an explanation as to why the president’s children who have no role in the administration are on the trip.

Relatives await start of U.S. President Trump's second State of the Union address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress in Washington
White House adviser Ivanka Trump (L) stands with her brother Eric and his wife Lara as well as her brother Donald Jr and sister Tiffany as they await the start of U.S. President Donald Trump’s second State of the Union address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. February 5, 2019. Jonathan Ernst / REUTERS

Trump says it would be “foolish” for Republicans to block Mexico tariff threat

Mr. Trump insisted Mexico still isn’t doing enough to halt illegal immigration, and said the tariffs will be imposed next week.

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He also suggested Republicans won’t go through with a possible plan to block the tariffs, as reported by the Washington Post. Doing so, Mr. Trump said, would be “foolish.”

“I’m a woman of my word,” May says on whether she will stick around longer

May, asked if she might stick around longer to work out a trade deal with the U.S., said she will be leaving as planned.

“I’m a woman of my word,” she said.

Trump says U.S. and U.K. will “be able to work out any differences”

Mr. Trump, asked if he would consider limiting intelligence sharing with the U.S. over differences on things like the Chinese company Huwaei, insisted that won’t be necessary. The U.S. and U.K. “be able to work out any differences,” Mr. Trump said.

The president went on to say he has confidence that a trade deal will be reached between the U.S. and U.K.

The president also praised the way May has handled Brexit, despite past criticism.

“Well I don’t like to take positions in things that I’m not you know really — I understand the issue really well I really predicted what was going to happen,” Mr. Trump said of the future of Brexit. “Some of you remember that prediction, it was a strong prediction, made at a certain location at a development we were opening the day before it happened. And I thought it was going to happen because of immigration more than anything else but probably it happens for a lot of reasons.”

“But I would say I would think that it will happen and it probably should happen. This is a great great country and it wants its own identity. It wants to have its own borders, it wants to run its own affairs. This is a very very special place and I think it deserves a special place. I thought maybe for that reason and for others but for that reason it was going to happen. Yeah I think it will happen.”

Trump inaccurately calls protests “fake news”

The president then went on to say many reports of protesters are “fake news,” insisting that the only protesters he saw were a very small group.

“There were thousands of people cheering,” the president insisted.

But thousands of protesters did show up on London’s streets Tuesday to voice their disapproval of the president’s visit and policies.

Trump calls “fake news” on protests against his U.K. visit

Trump responds to criticism from British leaders

In the first question, the president was asked to respond to criticisms from top leaders in Britain, including Jeremy Corbyn and London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

“Well I think he’s been a not very good mayor from what I understand,” the president said of Khan, adding he doesn’t think Khan should be criticizing a representative of the United States.

“I think he should actually focus on his job,” the president said.

On Corbyn, Mr. Trump said he denied a meeting with the leader of the Labour Party, calling him a “negative force.”

Trump calls London Mayor Sadiq Khan, opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn “negative forces”

Trump thanks U.K. for longstanding relationship

Mr. Trump then began his remarks, describing the queen as a “fantastic” person and thanking her for her hospitality.

The U.S. and U.K., the president said, have a special relationship, from D-Day to today — “a liberation like few people have seen before” — to Britain’s aid in attempting to defeat ISIS.

Mr. Trump said the U.S. is “committed to a phenomenal trade deal” with the U.K., as the U.K. looks to implement Brexit.

The president also praised May for her love of her country and partnership.

Trump and May take the stage

Mr. Trump and May took the stage at 9:07 a.m. Eastern time, with May beginning remarks first.

“This week we commemorate the extraordinary courage and sacrifice of those who gave their lives for our liberty on D-Day, 75 years ago,” the prime minister said, noting the “special” relationship between the U.S. and U.K.

May went on to describe specific key moments in the U.S.-U.K. alliance. She also noted her appreciation for Mr. Trump’s push to have NATO members pay more towards their mutual security.

The outgoing prime minister said the two discussed the importance of pressuring Iran, “although we differ on the means of achieving that,” she noted.

The Trump administration has acted largely alone in heightening pressure on Iran and backing out of the Iran nuclear deal last year.

Joint press conference beginning shortly

Journalists are gathering for the joint press availability, scheduled for 8:45 a.m. Eastern.

Both British and American flags adorn the stately room.

While reporters are sure to ask questions about the U.K.-U.S. relationship, anything is possible in these news conference settings with a president who likes to speak his mind.

First Lady hosts garden party at 10 Downing​

First Lady Melania Trump hosted a reception with the prime minister’s husband Philip for 10 Downing and British embassy families during the president’s day of meetings at the official residence. There was a mix of British and American lawn games and food at the lighthearted event breaking up a day of political talks between the two nations.

The first lady met with young children waving British and American flags and signed a banner commemorating the state visit.

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LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 04: Philip May and First Lady Melania Trump attend a garden party for families of staff from No.10 and the US Embassy in London, at 10 Downing Street, during the second day of President Trump’s State Visit on June 4, 2019 in London, England. President Trump’s three-day state visit began with lunch with the Queen, followed by a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, whilst today he will attend business meetings with the Prime Minister and the Duke of York, before travelling to Portsmouth to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. / Getty Images

Sadiq Khan calls Trump a “poster boy” for far right

“I’m a bit surprised that the President of the USA would, frankly speaking, behave like an 11-year-old and resort to name calling,” London Mayor Sadiq Khan told CBS News partner network BBC News when reacting to Mr. Trump’s tweets about him. Khan said despite their war of words, he’d welcome a “discussion about some of the issues we disagree about.”

But Kahn said he was concerned that the leader of the U.S. “seems a poster boy for far right movements across the globe” suggesting his rhetoric and past ban on travel from Muslim-majority countries “played into the hands of extremists.”

Khan urged the prime minister to express to Mr. Trump during their day of meetings “her concerns in relation to some of the things he’s said and done.”

Trumps, Mays view copy of Declaration of Independence

During a tour of 10 Downing, Prime Minister Theresa May, Philip May, President Trump and the first lady viewed a copy of the Declaration of Independence.

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LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 04: Prime Minister Theresa May, husband Philip May, US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump during a visit to 10 Downing Street, during the second day of his State Visit on June 4, 2019 in London, England. President Trump’s three-day state visit began with lunch with the Queen, followed by a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, whilst today he will attend business meetings with the Prime Minister and the Duke of York, before travelling to Portsmouth to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. / Getty Images

Thousands protest as Trump arrives for May meeting

As the Trumps arrived, an audible hum of chants rang out in the distance as thousands gathered in London’s Trafalgar Square, just a 3 minute drive down the street from 10 Downing.

Protest against U.S. President Donald Trump in London
Demonstrators take part in a protest against U.S. President Donald Trump, in Trafalgar Square, London, Britain, June 4, 2019. Clodagh Kilcoyne / REUTERS

Crowds of protesters were seen with signs demonstrating against the Trump administration while a giant balloon of the president wearing diapers dubbed “Trump Baby” soared overhead. The anti-Trump protests are expected to continue throughout much of the day as the president concludes his State visit.

U.S. President Donald Trump visits Britain
A “Baby Trump” balloon flies over a demonstrator as she takes part in an anti-Trump protest in London, Britain, June 4, 2019. Alkis Konstantinidis / REUTERS

Trump arrives at 10 Downing

The President and first lady arrived at 10 Downing Street and were greeted by Prime Minister May and her husband Philip May. The group exchanged pleasantries and posed for photos before entering the building for private meetings.

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LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 04: (L-R) Philip May, British Prime Minister Theresa May, US President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump arrive at 10 Downing street for a meeting on the second day of the U.S. President and First Lady’s three-day State visit on June 4, 2019 in London, England. President Trump’s three-day state visit began with lunch with the Queen, followed by a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, whilst today he will attend business meetings with the Prime Minister and the Duke of York, before travelling to Portsmouth to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. / Getty Images

Staff at the residence rolled out the red carpet for the president as Larry the cat, a common presence outside 10 Downing Street was seen resting in a window sill during the welcome ceremony.

White House adviser Jared Kushner was seen arriving several moments before the president entered the building. White House officials including the president’s daughter Ivanka Trump, Press Secretary Sarah Sanders, Acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and National Security Adviser John Bolton arrived for the day’s events shortly after the president entered. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is also slated to attend.

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LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 04: British Prime Minister Theresa May and US President Donald Trump arrive at 10 Downing street for a meeting on the second day of the U.S. President and First Lady’s three-day State visit on June 4, 2019 in London, England. President Trump’s three-day state visit began with lunch with the Queen, followed by a State Banquet at Buckingham Palace, whilst today he will attend business meetings with the Prime Minister and the Duke of York, before travelling to Portsmouth to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings. / Getty Images

The president is now expected to participate in an expanded bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister.

Trumps head to Downing Street

President Trump left the business roundtable meeting on Tuesday and headed for the seat of British political power, the prime minister’s official residence at 10 Downing Street.

Business round table

Mr. Trump sat opposite Prime Minister Theresa May at one of the royal palaces in London on Tuesday, each leader flanked by economic advisers and company bosses from some of the biggest businesses on both sides of the Atlantic.

According to the AFP news agency, bosses from corporate giants BAE Systems, GlaxoSmithKline, Barclays, Reckitt Benckiser, JP Morgan, Lockheed Martin and Goldman Sachs International were among those expected to attend the meeting.

Speaking before his departure from Washington, Mr. Trump said Britain’s leaders “want to do trade with the United States and I think there’s an opportunity for a very big trade deal at some point in the near future.”

The U.K.’s scheduled departure from the EU may leave it free to strike its own unilateral trade deals around the world, but it will also leave it without the huge collective bargaining power of membership in the 28-nation trade bloc. In an interview with British newspaper The Sunday Times, Mr. Trump said the U.K. should “walk away from Brexit talks” if the European Union doesn’t give it what it wants.

U.S. President Donald Trump visits Britain
President Donald Trump and Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May attend a business roundtable discussion at St. James’s Palace during his state visit in London, Britain, June 4, 2019. REUTERS

“We are your largest partner. You’re our largest partner. A lot of people don’t know that,” Mr. Trump said to May as the meeting began, noting that he believed there was a “great opportunity to enlarge that, in light of what’s happening.”

Mr. Trump’s declaration got the facts ironically wrong, however. The U.S.’s biggest trading partner is the European Union collectively, not Great Britain on its own, which is only the second largest economy in the trading bloc behind Germany.

But what Mr. Trump’s administration might demand from Britain in exchange for a trade deal has already proven controversial in the U.K.

To strike a trade deal with the much larger U.S., the Trump administration has indicated that Britain may be asked to open its cherished national health care system, the NHS, up to American investors. Opposition Labour Party lawmakers were quick to point to Ambassador Woody Johnson’s remarks as evidence that the Conservative-led government was willing to “sell” Britain’s social healthcare system.

Johnson told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that, “in a trade deal, all things that are traded would be on the table.” Asked by the host if that specifically meant healthcare, Johnson replied: “I would think so.”

Johnson also appeared to confirm fears among some Britons that in order to strike a deal with the U.S., post-Brexit Britain might need to lower some of the food safety standards in place under EU law, which ban genetically modified organisms and some pesticides and practices used widely in U.S. agriculture and food production.

“There will have to be some deal where you give the British people a choice,” he told Marr’s audience. “American products can come over and be allowed to come over. Agriculture is extremely important to the president and to any American president … but if the British people like it, they can buy it, if they don’t like it, they don’t have to buy it.”

Protests planned for Trump’s visit

The president’s trip to the U.K. has been met with protests, and the president has delivered some fiery words of his own. Anti-Trump protests were planned Tuesday in London, including a robotic “Trump” sat upon a toilet that will be paraded around the city — along with the infamous “Trump baby” balloon.

Mr. Trump’s spat with London Mayor Sadiq Khan has played out on Twitter. On Monday, the president compared him to one of his arch rivals, Bill de Blasio.

“I don’t think much of him,” the president said of Khan Sunday night. “I think that he’s the twin of de Blasio, except shorter.” Mr. Trump called Khan a “stone cold loser.”

Khan criticized Mr. Trump in 2016 for his views on Islam, calling Mr. Trump “ignorant.” At the time, Mr. Trump responded by questioning Khan’s IQ.

Despite low approval ratings in the U.K., the president tweeted that he thought the media would have to work “hard” to find people demonstrating against his presence in the British capital. Over the past couple days, a handful of demonstrators have popped up in London wearing Mr. Trump’s trademark “MAGA” hats, supporting his visit.

One British man, wearing the hat near the protesters as they inflated “Trump baby” on Tuesday, told CBS News’ Haley Ott that he hoped to encourage people to have, “a bit of civil discourse, find some common ground.”

Trump’s visit so far has been ceremonial

The first day of Mr. Trump’s visit to the U.K. was largely ceremonial, and the White House has laid out few objectives for his first official state visit to Britain.

Mr. Trump received a Winston Churchill book from Queen Elizabeth II, with whom he also had lunch on Monday. He then had tea with Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla. On Monday night he took part in a state banquet at Buckingham Palace, during which he and the queen delivered speeches.

“Mr. President, as we look to the future, I am confident that our common values and shared interests will continue to unite us,” the queen said. “Tonight we celebrate an alliance that has helped to ensure the safety and prosperity of both our peoples for decades, and which I believe will endure for many years to come.”

Trump remarks on Brexit, Khan, Markle spark controversy as U.K. state visit begins

For his part, the president expressed gratitude for the queen’s hospitality and remembered those who lost their lives on D-Day, the pivotal Allied invasion of northern France during World War II, the 75th anniversary of which is on Thursday.

“The bond between our nations was forever sealed in that great crusade,” the president said in his speech. “As we honor our shared victory and heritage, we affirm the common values that will unite us long into future.”

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