President Trump is holding a joint news conference with British Prime Minister Teresa May Friday, in the middle of his trip to the United Kingdom.
Mr. Trump’s visit to Britain is sandwiched between the Brussels NATO summit, where he blasted allies over defense spending and trade, and ahead of his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki, Finland.
On Friday, Mr. Trump met and dined with May, who faces her own political challenges, with just days to come up with a new plan for Brexit or face a vote of no confidence in parliament. Two top U.K. officials overseeing Brexit negotiations resigned earlier this week.
Reporters are likely to question Mr. Trump about his commitment to NATO, given his recent criticisms of the organization, and about his upcoming meeting with Putin. Mr. Trump has repeatedly said it’s a good thing to get along with Russia, and calls Putin a competitor.
On the day before the news conference, the British tabloid The Sun published an interview with Mr. Trump in which he said he thinks Boris Johnson would make a great prime minister, and Britain’s trade relationship with the U.S. could come to an end if British Prime Minister Theresa May follows through with the so-called “soft” Brexit blueprint. The president made the comments ahead of meetings with May and Queen Elizabeth.
May is promoting the “soft” Brexit plan, which would keep strong economic ties with the European Union. Mr. Trump said he advised May how to manage Brexit, but she didn’t listen.
“I did give, Theresa, who I like — I did give her my views on what she should do and how she should negotiate, and she didn’t follow those views,” Mr. Trump told the Sun. “I would actually say she probably went the opposite way.”
Live updates of Trump-May press conference below:
