We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
THE UK SHOULD strive for a no-deal Brexit with the EU and refuse to pay the agreed £39 billion (€45 billion) divorce bill, US President Donald Trump has said.
Trump also said that Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage should be sent in to negotiating his country’s exit from the European Union.
Trump made the statements in an interview with the Sunday Times newspaper ahead of the president’s state visit to England.
The comments cone after Trump told The Sun he thought former foreign secretary Boris Johnson would make an “excellent” prime minister to take over from Theresa May.
May is due to step down on 7 June after failing on multiple occasions to get her EU Brexit leaving bill through parliament.
“I like Nigel a lot,” Trump said of Farage. “He has a lot to offer”.
He is a very smart person. They won’t bring him in. Think how well they would do if they did. They just haven’t figured that out yet.
State visit
Trump is to embark on a three-day visit from tomorrow, during which he will meet Queen Elizabeth II and have talks with May.
He’s due to arrive in Ireland on Wednesday to spend two nights at his Doonbeg resort. A tight security operation is in place for Trump’s Ireland visit, with protests also planned.
In his interview with the Sunday Times, he urged the UK government to follow his rule book in negotiating deals when it came to Brexit.
“If they don’t get what they want, I would walk away… If you don’t get the deal you want, if you don’t get a fair deal, then you walk away,” he said.
On the divorce bill – the UK’s liabilities as it leaves the EU – Trump said:
If I were them I wouldn’t pay $50 billion. That is me. I would not pay, that is a tremendous number.
Trump said that a future trade deal with the US would make up for lost trade with the EU and that he would “go all out” to help them get a deal.
I would go all out. It would be a great advantage to the the UK. A tremendous advantage
Conservative split
Brexit was due to have happened in March this year but as been pushed back twice as the UK parliament on a number of accusations failed to pass measures to actually leave.
The Conservative party under May and the parliament are split over what sort of Brexit they want: either a total break from the EU, or a closer relationship that implies accepting EU rules on trade and immigration.
The issue of the Irish backstop – the measures needed to ensure that there will no return to a hard border on the island of Ireland – has been one of the most contentious issues.
After failing repeatedly to get her vision of Brexit passed, May has been forced to announce she will step down on Friday.
More than a dozen Conservative MPs have thrown their hat in the ring to take over as party leader and prime minister, with Boris Johnson seen as an early favourite.
Large protests are planned during Trump’s visit to London.
The mayor of the capital, Sadiq Khan, said today in a piece in The Observer that the US president was “one of the most egregious examples” of a growing global threat from the far-right.
Khan said Trump’s “divisive behaviour flies in the face of the ideals America was founded upon – equality, liberty and religious freedom”.
He added that populist politicians such as Farage and Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban “are using the same divisive tropes of the fascists of the 20th century to garner support, but are using new sinister methods to deliver their message”.
- © AFP, 2019 With reporting from Cormac Fitzgerald
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
The European Union is the largest trading and regulatory block in the world. It accounts for 30% of world GDP. Its in Trumps interest to destabilise it.
@Skipper Mac: That’s exactly what he is in the process of doing.
@Skipper Mac: just as a matter of interest – when the UK leaves the EU by how much will that 30% drop?
@Skipper Mac: The biggest problem for Trump with the EU is that it simply to big and economiclly powerful to bully. If he was dealing with individual countries he could use the US’s economic strenght to extract far more favourable terms for US trade. And that is why he wants the UK to leave without any deal. It will leave the UK desperate for any form of trade deal with the US, and going by is past form, it won’t in any way be favourable to the UK side. All one has to do is remember his rallying cry “America First”.
@Mick.: I don’t think he’s that smart!
@Skipper Mac: exactly
@offtheball: the UK have replaced by deals with Japan so not much of a drop
@Cupid Stunt: not him but his stuff yes
@offtheball: by something between 1.5 and 2 per cent.
Lol from someone who couldn’t negotiate his way out of a paper bag!!!!
@Linda Waters: You sure about that
@Shaun Gallagher: If you have to resort to laundering Russian money, it doesn’t speak to much negotiating prowess.
I can just imagine Trumps Tweets if every EU leader publicly endorsed Biden for US President and recommended Muller to negotiate all future US trade deals.
@Martin Horan: you have some weird and unrealistic fantasies.
Mueller… ha!
@Early Cuyler: An error is name spelling…….fantastic retort…Ha!
So hes taking a leaf put of Putin’s book and trying to stir it, encourage the disruption of the EU so that America can replace intra EU trade for that country with transatlantic trade instead. Even for him, I find this dissppointing.
Stay out of it, none of your business.
Just like Mexico paid for that wall!
@Tony Gordon: And him paying American farmers $12bn with another 20bn on the way as China stops buying American crops.
@Paul Furey: I’d like to hear from American farmers that they are getting assistance. Like the Mexicans paying for a non-existent wall
Hasn’t a bogs notion.
The art of the failed deal and propped up via deutche bank
Yep I agree , send in Farage…anything to carry on making the Brits the laughing stock they have become….
Funny how people didn’t get excited when St Barack Obama was weighing in with his opinion on Brexit…
@Valthebear: Obama made some valid and intelligent points, so people listened. All this goon does is pick fights.. Which he then loses. Imbecile is too kind a word for him.
@Tomás O’Loughlin: It’s coming to light that Obama set up a spying operation in 2012 not only on opposition politicians and judges, but against any American in order to have leverage to maintain power. This surveillance system was created by CIA/NSA/FBI contractor-turned-whistleblower Dennis L. Montgomery for Obama’s intelligence chiefs, CIA Director John Brennan and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.
My point is, doesnt matter how bad you all think Trump is, and I agree, he’s not the best, but he is nowhere near as bad as what he replaced or who he beat in 2016. That’s just a matter of personal opinion though, so make of it what you will.
Montgomery divulged to the FBI a ”pattern & practice of conducting illegal, unconstitutional surveillance against millions of citizens, including prominent Americans such as the chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, other justices, 156 judges, prominent businessmen, and others such as Donald J. Trump” Montgomery and Klayman alleged in their suit.
“Plaintiffs were assured that the FBI, under Defendant Comey, would conduct a full investigation into the grave instances of illegal & unconstitutional activity set forth by Montgomery. However, the FBI, on Defendant Comey’s orders, buried the FBI’s investigation because the FBI itself is involved in an ongoing conspiracy to not only conduct the aforementioned illegal, unconstitutional surveillance, but to cover it up as well,” the suit added.
I agree with Trump. May was never a true Brexiteer and never had the stomach to get it done. So if they want to get brexit done, give the man who brought it about a chance.
@Liberal_Ireland: a man who brought it about and walked away….
Considering the job he’s done “negotiating” with NK re nuclear weapons, China re trade, Congress re the wall and infrastructure and his own bloody party re healthcare… It’s safe to say we should all ignore his moronic babbling. He’s a complete failure of a president.
@Tomás O’Loughlin: apparently 5 NK officials from the Hanoi summit have been executed for being American spies and one interpreter has been sent to a prison camp.
@Tomás O’Loughlin: and you forgot to say he’s ugly. His personal life is a joke, look at Melania’s happy smiley face for confirmation.
@Paula Mackie Senior: How’s the Clintons personal life going. We can all throw stones and call names. Please grow up..
SH- T STIRRER
Openly Interfering in another county’s election. FACIST.
@Dave Walsh: like that other ‘FACIST’ Mr Obama?
https://thetylt.com/politics/president-obama-weighs-in-on-brexit
Maybe the Eu should grow a set of balls and just kick the uk out and be done with it, im sure ireland will survive if the EU helps them.
@Alan Brazil: absolutely….turf them out… they were that arrogant they even wanted us out to… Brits are very quick at telling other people what to do…they don’t seem to be that good keeping their own house in check..absolute wasters..it’s good Europe now see’s them for what they are…
@CJ Stewart: that’s a so funny comment ,kick the brits out l don’t think so ,the unelected eu want the money and the eu will be looking for little countries like Ireland to pay up more .l don’t know whether you will get this comment cos it’s just says toxic ,so if that’s the case won’t be bothering on here again
@Denise Gerrard: what unelected EU .. the whole of the EU just held elections .. the second biggest democratic vote in the world behind India .. dont be bothering on here unless your facts are correct ..
@Denise Gerrard: Well you see Denise, when you mention Brits and Brexit, the systems registers TOXIC..its as simple as that
@Denise Gerrard: there are 66 unelected officials in the EU as opposed to more than 400 in the UK. Your comment isn’t so much toxic as it is ill-informed.
@Patrick Kearns: enlighten please
Yeah, that would end really really well
Mind your own business trump. You might even become persona non Grata
Trump and Farage two great leaders.
@Orla Smith: yes the Leading Liars and purveyors of Fake information to suit their wish for infamy
How to start another world war – elect eejits as leaders
Doge
Oh shut up Donald and go sort your own country out .
@Deirdre Gosson: booming economy, unemployment at an all time low among every race. Just like here people don’t care about any scandal just as long as they have money in their pockets. President Trump ticks all those boxes
@Nowa Huta: economy might be OK for some but not all with people having to get two/three jobs to survive, no healthcare? Someone will have to pay the 1% tax cut farmer subs with the trade war with China and the mounting debt….
Seems a lot on here so not agree with democracy …
@Willy: The way the UK democracy is setup the government control the situation not the people. Pretty much you are seeing democracy in action as it stands.
Trump and Farage have one thing in common they are both mouth pieces.
Iv just woken from a 3 year coma. How did brexit go ?
Trump is a hero cant wait to see him at Doonbeg
What a fool. Dose he not know he has been an member or the European Parliament for years making a nuisance of him selves.
Well he would, would’nt he?
Wouldn’t a downturn here due to a hard brexit effect his Irish interests…. What a colossal fukktard
The orange turd should focus on his own countries many problems seems not interfere in things he doesn’t understand
Once England leaves other countries will be lining up to leave.. imagine Freedom and Sovereignty over your own nation… One the is ran both for and by the people… Not by some central power, ran by a group of corrupt individuals…
Let’s all give Trump a warm welcome when he visits Ireland . Sure he has our best interests at heart
It’s all deals, deals, deals with the orange idiot. How much did you lose in the last ten years making deals? One billion was it?
WE ARE NOT AMUSED ..
That Khan is a serious weasel
LOL
He is not welcome in France, and the Normandy coast is a dangerous place. 75 years ago a lot of GI’s lost there life there
@Pierre Maanen: Thanks to the yellow belly French.
First of all congress is in charge of trade agreements. He’s in the process of breaking the trade agreement he signed with Mexico.
His word has no value . If he continues with his current economic policies, the American economy will tank , probably the rest of us as well . You can criticize him on so many levels that it’s impossible to focus. His character flaws are extremely worrying.
The only saving grace he has shown , is that he hasn’t started a war. So let’s hope that continues.
Who? I don’t see one comment from people disputing the UK’s right to leave. I see a lot pointing out what an idiot Trump is.
He’s a TREMENDOUS idiot. He uses that word as often as the ultra right wing UK Express newspaper uses the word BOMBSHELL in its headlines.
According to the Guardian they report Trump is interested in buying the NHS … very easy if Nigel Farrage is in charge of Brexit
Also has anyone seen the Sky News ad for his visit on Twitter? It’s glorious and making Trump fans mad
Also has anyone seen the Sky News ad for his visit on Twitter? It’s glorious and making Trump fans mad
Trump should try looking after his own affairs, especially as he could be impeached.
Proving the US disrespects other countries sovereignty and rule of law…
If Cleo Varadkar had any balls he’d tell Trump not to bother stopping. He says all this on the eve of a visit here. Essentially he is advising the UK to walk away in a huff and reintroduce a hard border here. Nice one Trump ye fuppin plank!
I was in the middle of replying to a comment when it posted prematurely, I’d been saying its laughable USA calling itself the biggest Democracy in the world! If it truly was, Hilary Clinton would be President as she won something like 3,000,000 more vote’s. It’s the electoral college voting for djt that made him President! So where is democracy? Djt is insisting that the trade sanctions go on Chinese products! Guess who gets to pay for them, yep, the American Public. And he’s saying the guy who lied to the British Public at vote time and disappeared the day after elections is his kind of guy. Well that says plenty to me. He doesn’t understand Irish issues! Seeing as he’s here to have talks in the UK why does Ireland have to pay for him to play golf at his own course when he has one in UK?
@Stephen Dempsey: They don’t call themselves a democracy as they are a Constitutional Republic. Totally different. Maybe try reading instead of being a smart ass. It’s not a good look on you.
The US ambassador has said that in trade deals with the UK after Brexit they want access to all of the UK services including the NHS. Just look at the mess they health service is in. Cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, Veterans Affairs a disgrace. Doing a great job the tax cuts were worth billions to big business and cents to the average American.
have your say