Trump tells UK to send Farage in to negotiate Brexit and people have thoughts

Donald Trump has said that Nigel Farage should lead the government's Brexit negotiations, and the UK should prepare to leave the EU with no deal.

In an interview with the Sunday Times, ahead of his state visit to the UK next week, Mr Trump said that the UK should refuse to pay the $36bn 'divorce bill', and walk away if Brussels doesn't bow to Britain's demands.

Breaking with diplomatic convention, Mr Trump said that the leader of the Brexit Party, who is an avid critic of Theresa May, 'has a lot to offer' in negotiations with the EU, and that he should be included, reports the BBC.

Speaking to The Times, he said:

I like Nigel a lot. 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

He also said that that the United Kingdom should walk away if it does not get what it wants from the Brexit negotiations:

If you don't get the deal you want, if you don't get a fair deal, then you walk away.

When asked if Britain should also withhold the £39bn payment, which is approximately $50bn, the president said that he 'wouldn't pay':

If I were them I wouldn’t pay $50bn.

That is me. I would not pay, that is a tremendous number.

On Saturday, Mr Trump also said that Boris Johnson would be an 'excellent' Conservative Party leader.

Mr Johnson is one of the candidates in the race to replace Theresa May as leader of the Conservative Party after she voluntarily resigns in July after the president's state visit.

Mr Trump will meet the Queen tomorrow and will enjoy a state banquet, hold talks with Theresa May, and attend a D-Day commemoration in Portsmouth before leaving on Wednesday, when he will travel to France, reportsthe Times.

Many people were quick to respond to Trump's endorsement of Farage on social media.

HT The Times

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