Mr. President: I am honored to have Prime
Minister Theresa May here for our first official
visit from a foreign leader.
This is our first visit, so a great honor.
The special relationship between our two countries
has been one of the great forces in history for
justice and for peace and, by the way, my mother was
born in Scotland, Stornoway, which is
serious Scotland
Today the United States renews our deep bond with
Britain; military, financial, cultural,
and political.
We have one of the great bonds.
We pledge our lasting support to this most
special relationship.
Together America and the United Kingdom are a
beacon for prosperity and the rule of law.
That is why the United States respects the
sovereignty of the British people and their right of
self-determination.
A free and independent Britain is a blessing to
the world, and our relationship has
never been stronger.
Both America and Britain understand that
governments must be responsive to everyday
working people, that governments must represent
their own citizens.
Madam Prime Minister, we look forward to working
closely with you as we strengthen our mutual ties
in commerce, business, and foreign affairs.
Great days lie ahead for our two peoples, and our
two countries.
On behalf of our nation I thank you for
joining us here today.
It's a really great honor.
Thank you very much.
Prime Minister May: Well, thank you very much
Mr. President and can I start by saying that I'm
so pleased that I've been able to be here today, and
thank you for inviting me so soon after your
inauguration, and I'm delighted to be able to
congratulate you on what
was a stunning election victory.
And, as you say, the invitation is an
indication of the strength and importance of the
special relationship that exists between our two
countries; a relationship based on the bonds of
history, of family, kinship, and
common interests.
And in a further sign of the importance of that
relationship, I have today been able to convey her
Majesty the Queen's hope that President Trump and
the First Lady would pay a state visit to the United
Kingdom later this year, and I'm delighted that the
President has accepted that invitation.
Now today we're discussing a number of topics and
there's much on which we agree.
The President has mentioned foreign policy.
We're discussing how we can work even more closely
together in order to take on and defeat DAESH and
the ideology of Islamist
extremism wherever it's found.
Our two nations are already leading efforts to
face up to this challenge, and we're making progress
with DAESH losing territory and fighters,
but we need to redouble our efforts.
And today we're discussing how we can do this by
deepening intelligence and security cooperation, and
critically by stepping up our efforts to counter
DAESH in cyberspace because we know we will
not eradicate this threat until we defeat the idea,
the ideology that lies behind it.
Our talks will be continuing later.
I'm sure we'll discuss other topics;
Syria and Russia.
On defense and security cooperation, we're united
in our recognition of NATO as the bulwark of our
collective defense and today we've reaffirmed our
unshakable commitment to this alliance.
Mr. President, I think you said, confirmed that
you're 100 percent behind NATO, but we're also
discussing the importance of NATO continuing to
ensure it is as equipped to fight terrorism and
cyber warfare as it is to fight more conventional
forms of war, and I've agreed to continue my
efforts to continue my fellow European leaders to
deliver on their commitments to spend 2
percent of their GDP on defense so that the burden
is more fairly shared.
It's only by investing properly in our defense
that we can ensure we're properly equipped to face
our share of challenges together.
And, finally, the President and I have
mentioned future economic cooperation and trade.
Trade between our two countries is already worth
over 150,000,000,000 £ a year.
The U.S. is the
single biggest source of inward
investment in the U.K.
and together we've around $1,000,000,000,000
invested in each other's economies,
and the U.K./U.S.
defense relationship is the broadest, deepest, and
most advanced of any two countries sharing military
hardware and expertise, and I think the President
and I are ambitious to build on this relationship
in order to grow our respective economies,
provide the high skilled, high-paid jobs of the
future for working people across America
and across the U.K.
And so we are discussing how we can establish a
trade negotiation agreement, take forward
immediate high-level talks, lay the groundwork
for a U.K./U.S.
trade agreement, and identify the practical
steps we can take now in order to enable companies
in both countries to trade and do business with one
another more easily.
And I'm convinced that a trade deal
between the U.S.
and the U.K.
is in the national interest of both countries
and will cement the crucial relationship that
exists between us, particularly as the U.K.
leaves the European Union and reaches out
to the world.
Today's talks I think are a significant moment for
President Trump and I to build our relationship,
and I look forward to continuing to work with
you as we deliver on the promises of freedom and
prosperity for all the people of our
respective countries.
Thank you.
Mr. President: Thank you very much.
That was very nicely stated.
Steve Holland.
Where's Steve?
Steve, yes.
Steve Holland: Thank you, you're going to be
speaking tomorrow with the Russian President.
What message would you like to convey to him?
How close are you to lifting some of the
sanctions imposed on Russia over its
Ukraine incursion?
What would you expect in return, and Prime Minister
May, do you foresee any changes in British
attitudes toward sanctions on Russia?
Mr. President: Well, I hear a call was set up
Steve, and we'll see what happens.
As far as the sanctions, very early to be talking
about that, but we look to have a great relationship
with all countries, ideally.
That won't necessarily happen.
Unfortunately probably won't happen with many
countries, but if we can have, as we do with Prime
Minister May and the relationship that we've
all developed and even in the short relationship
that we've just developed just by being with each
other: we've had lunch and we've really had some very
interesting talks and very productive talks, but if
we can have a great relationship with Russia
and with China and with all countries,
I'm all for that.
That would be a tremendous asset.
No guarantees, but if we can, that would be a
positive, not a negative. Okay?
Prime Minister May: We have -- as far as the U.K.
is concerned on sanctions for Russia, in relation to
their activities in the Ukraine, we have been very
clear that we want to see the Minsk Agreement
fully implemented.
We believe the sanctions should continue until we
see that Minsk Agreement fully implemented, and
we've been continuing to argue that inside the
European Union. Laura.
Laura Kuenssberg: And thank you very much
Prime Minister.
Laura Kuenssberg, BBC News.
Prime Minister, you've talked about where you
agree, but you have also said you would be frank
where you disagreed with the President.
Can you tell us where in our talks you did
disagree, and do you think that the President
listened to what you had to say?
And, Mr. President, you said [laughs] --
(laughter)
-- we'll see what she says.
Mr. President, you've said before that torture works.
You've praised Russia.
You've said you wanted to ban some Muslims from
coming to America.
You've suggested there should be punishment
for abortion.
For many people in Britain those sound like
alarming beliefs.
What do you say to our viewers at home who are
worried about some of your views, and worried about
you becoming the leader of the free world?
Mr. President: This was your choice of a question?
(laughter)
There goes that relationship.
(laughter)
Prime Minister May: On the issue that you raised with
me Laura, can I confirm that the President -- I've
been listening to the President and the
President has been listening to me.
That's the point of having a conversation and a
dialogue, and we have been discussing a
number of topics.
We'll carry on after this press conference, meeting
and discussing a number of other topics, and there
will be times when we disagree and issues on
which we disagree.
The point of this special relationship is that we
are able to have that open and frank discussion.
So we are able to make that clear when it
happens, but I'm clear also that there are many
issues on which the United Kingdom and the United
States stand alongside one another; many issues on
which we agree, and I think, as I said yesterday
in my speech, that we are at a moment now when we
can build an even stronger special relationship,
which will be in the interests, not
just of the U.K.
and the United States, but actually in the interests
of the wider world as well.
Mr. President: We have a great general always just
been appointed Secretary of Defense; General James
Mattis, and he has stated publicly that he does not
necessarily believe in torture or waterboarding
or however you want to define it; enhanced
interrogation, I guess, would be a word that a lot
of -- words that a lot of people would like to use.
I don't necessarily agree, but I would tell you that
he will override because I'm giving him that power.
He's an expert.
He's highly respected.
He's the general's general; got through the
Senate very, very quickly, which in this country is
not easy I will tell you, and so I'm going
to rely on him.
I happen to feel that it does work.
I've been open about that for a long period of time,
but I am going with our leaders, and we're going
to -- we're going to win, with or without,
but I do disagree.
As far as, again, Putin and Russia: I don't say
good, bad, or indifferent.
I don't know the gentleman.
I hope we have a fantastic relationship.
That's possible, and it's also possible
that we won't.
We will see what happens.
I will be representing the American people very, very
strongly, very forcefully, and if we have a great
relationship with Russia and other countries and if
we go after ISIS together, which has to be stopped.
That's an evil that has to be stopped, I will
consider that a good thing, not a bad thing.
How the relationship works out: I won't be able to
tell you that later.
I've had many times where I thought I'd get along
with people, and I don't like them at all.
(laughter)
And I've had some where I didn't think I was going
to have much of a relationship and it turned
out to be a great relationship.
So, Theresa, we never know about those things do we?
But I will tell you one thing.
I'll be representing the American
people very strongly.
Thank you.
How about John Roberts, FOX?
John Roberts: Mr. President, thank
you so much.
Madam Prime Minister.
It's my understanding, Mr. President, that you
had an hour long phone call this morning with
President Enrique Pena Nieta of Mexico.
Could we get an update on where the relationship is?
Further to that, what do you say to your critics
who claim that you have already soured a
relationship with a very important U.S.
ally and, Madam Prime Minister, if I may ask you
as well: are you concerned about the state of
relations between the United States and Mexico?
Mr. President: Well, I think the Prime Minister
first of all has other things that she's much
more worried about than Mexico and the United
State's relationship, but I will say that we had a
very good call.
I have been very strong on Mexico.
I have great respect for Mexico.
I love the Mexican people.
I work with the Mexican people all the time; great
relationships, but, as you know, Mexico, with United
States, has out negotiated us and beat us to a pulp
through our past leaders.
They've made us look foolish.
We have a trade deficit
of $60,000,000,000 with Mexico.
On top of that, the border is soft and weak, drugs
are pouring in, and I'm not going to let that
happen and General Kelly is going to do a fantastic
job at Homeland Security.
As you know, we swore him in yesterday.
We have really, I think, a very good relationship,
the president and I, and we had a talk that lasted
for about an hour this morning, and we are going
to be working on a fairer relationship and
a new relationship.
But the United States cannot continue to lose
vast amounts of business, vast amounts of companies,
and millions and millions
of people losing their jobs.
That won't happen with me.
We're no longer going to be the country that
doesn't know what it's doing, and so we are going
to renegotiate our trade deals, and we're going to
renegotiate other aspects of our relationship with
Mexico and, in the end, I think it will be good
for both countries.
But it was a very, very friendly call.
I think you'll hear that from the president, and I
think you'll hear that from the people of Mexico
that really represent him and represent him very
well, and I look forward to, over the coming
months; we'll be negotiating and we'll
see what happens.
But I'm representing the people of the United
States, and I'm going to represent them as somebody
should represent them: not how they've been
represented in the past where we lose to
every single country.
Prime Minister May: As the President himself has
said, the relationship with the United States
with Mexico is a matter for the United States
and Mexico. Tom.
Tom: Mr. President, you said you'd help us with
the Brexit trade deal.
You've said -- you said you would help us.
with the Brexit trade deal.
You said you'd stand by us with NATO, but how can the
British prime minister believe you because you
have been known in the past to change your
position on things?
And also it's a question to both of you: people are
fascinated to know how you're going to get on
with each other.
You're so different: the hard-working daughter of a
vicar, the brash TV extrovert: have you found
anything in common personally yet?
Mr. President: Actually I'm not as brash
as you might think.
(laughter)
And I can tell you that I think we're going to get
along very well.
You know, I've -- it's interesting because I am
a people person.
I think you are also Theresa, and I can often
tell how I get along with somebody very early, and
I believe we're going
to have a fantastic relationship.
Brexit -- and I really don't change my
position very much.
If you go back and you look, my position on trade
has been solid for many, many years since I was a
very young person, talking about how we were getting
ripped off by the rest of the world, and I never
knew I'd be in this position where we can
actually do something about it.
But we will be talking to your folks about Brexit.
Brexit was an example of what was to come, and I
happened to be in Scotland at Turnberry cutting a
ribbon when Brexit happened, and we had a
vast amount of press there, and I said,
"Brexit" -- this was the day before.
You probably remember.
I said, "Brexit is going to happen." And I was
scorned in the press for making that prediction.
I was scorned, and I said I believe it's going to
happen because people want to know who's coming into
their country and they want to control their own
trade and various other things and, lo and behold,
the following day it happened, and the odds
weren't looking good for me when I made that
statement because, as you know, everybody thought it
was not going to happen.
I think Brexit's going to be a wonderful thing
for your country.
I think when it irons out, you're going to have your
own identity, and you're going to have the people
that you want in your country, and you're going
to be able to make free trade deals without having
somebody watching you and what you're doing, and I
had a very bad experience.
I have -- I had something when I was in
my other world.
I have something in another country, and
getting the approvals from Europe was very,
very tough.
Getting the approvals from the country was fast,
easy, and efficient.
Getting the approvals from the group: I call them the
consortium, was very, very tough, but I thought
Brexit -- I think, and I think it will go down that
it will end up being a fantastic thing for
the United Kingdom.
I think, in the end, it will be a tremendous
asset, not a tremendous liability, okay?
Prime Minister May: And just on the question you
asked me Tom, I mean, I think, as the President
himself has said, I think we have already struck up
a good relationship.
But you asked what we had in common.
I think if you look at the approach that we're both
taking, I think one of the things we have in common
is that we want to put the interests of ordinary,
working people right up there, center stage.
Those people who, you know, they're
working all the hours.
They're doing their best for their families, and
sometimes they just feel the odds are stacked
against them, and it's that interest in ensuring
that what we do, that the economies, our economies
and our governments actually work for
ordinary, working people; work for everyone
in our countries.
I think we both share that.
Mr. President: Thank you very much.
Prime Minister May: Thank you.
Mr. President: Thank you very much everybody.