Donald Trump Meets Queen Elizabeth In His First Official Visit to UK
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Donald Trump’s first visit official visit to the UK as president took place in between the NATO summit in Brussels and a meeting on July 16 in Helsinki with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Speaking after talks with UK’s PM Theresa May at Chequers, President Trump said the US-UK relationship is “the highest level of special”, while PM May said they had discussed plans for an “ambitious” trade agreement.
President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump later had tea with Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor.
Thousands of people have protested in London against President Trump’s UK visit.
A large balloon, portraying Donald Trump as a baby, has been floated in Parliament Square as part of the demonstrations. Other protests are taking place across the UK on July 13 and 14.
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The Queen greeted President Trump and the first lady as their motorcade arrived at Windsor Castle. The band of the Coldstream Guards played the Star-Spangled Banner and she invited the president to inspect the guard of honor.
Their meeting lasted nearly an hour and was the final engagement in Donald Trump’s two-day working visit to the UK.
The presidential couple took off from Windsor in a helicopter before boarding Air Force One, which flew them to Ayrshire and a weekend stay at his Turnberry golf resort.
Donald Trump and Theresa May’s talks at Chequers took place after The Sun published its wide-ranging interview with the president in which he was critical of the PM’s Brexit plan.
But standing alongside Theresa May after the meeting at her Buckinghamshire country residence, Donald Trump praised her as an “incredible woman” and a “very tough negotiator” who was “doing a fantastic job”, and said there could be a “great” trade deal between the US and UK.
The president said: “I read reports where that won’t be possible, but I believe after speaking with the prime minister’s people and representatives and trade experts it will absolutely be possible.”
At the news conference, Donald Trump said: “The relationship between our two nations is indispensable to the cause of liberty, justice, and peace.”
President Trump described Brexit as a “very tough situation… between the borders and the entries into the countries and all of the things”, saying: “The only thing I ask is that she work it out so that we can have very even trade.”