Trump attacks Theresa May’s Brexit plan

Donald Trump has warned British prime minister Theresa May that she may have killed off any chance of a United States trade deal, after accusing her of ignoring his advice and “killing off Brexit’’.

In an extraordinary interview with the mass tabloid newspaper The Sun, Mr Trump has raised significant and serious doubts about the prospective trade deal, which was to be one of the main morale boosting post-Brexit trade deals.

It’s about the most damaging message that Trump could deliver in the U.K. for a controversial visit that includes a formal dinner hosted by the prime minister and tea with the Queen. He also criticized her negotiating strategy, and said Boris Johnson, who quit May’s government this week in protest, would make a great leader.

As the newspaper’s exclusive interview was hitting the streets, Mrs May was hosting Mr Trump at Blenheim Palace, Winston Churchill’s ancestral home and the principal residence of the Duke of Marlborough.

Mrs May was to use the dinner as a prime chance to convince Mr Trump to commit to a US trade deal.

But the comments on trade are the deadliest because they contradict the government line on its Brexit blueprint and give fodder to the fears of Brexiteers, for whom a close trade deal with the U.S. is a cherished dividend of Brexit. Back in January 2017 Trump delighted Brexit-backers with the pledge of a quick trade deal, in an interview with the Times.

The U.K. government says its policy, which includes keeping close ties to the European Union after the divorce and matching the bloc’s rules to ease the trade of goods and agri-food, will still allow Britain to strike new trade deals around the world. That argument is what has kept International Trade Secretary Liam Fox in a role that would look largely redundant if Britain can’t go out and forge new partnerships.

May has lost two senior ministers over her Brexit plan – which is a week old today – and is fighting a backlash from hardliners in her party. Jacob Rees-Mogg, the leader of the euroskeptic caucus, is plotting a show of strength in Parliament next week as part of the campaign to force May to change tack.

As the Brexiteers, now joined by Trump, line up to attack May, the EU is being a bit friendlier. EU officials now see the biggest risk to getting a divorce deal done at all is whether May can cling to power, Ian Wishart and Tim Ross report. So even though they have major reservations about large parts of it, they will throw her what they hope is a lifeline, and won’t reject it outright.