White House defends UK comments: Trump ‘likes and respects’ Theresa May

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders late Thursday addressed President Trump’s critical comments about British Prime Minister Theresa May, saying Trump “likes and respects” the U.K. leader.

“As he said in his interview with the Sun she ‘is a very good person’ and he ‘never said anything bad about her,’” Sanders said in a statement to The Hill. “He thought she was great on NATO today and is a really terrific person.”

“He is thankful for the wonderful welcome from the Prime Minister here in the U.K.”

{mosads}

Trump had gone after May during an interview with the British tabloid The Sun while in the United Kingdom on Thursday, criticizing her “soft” Brexit plan.

“If they do a deal like that, we would be dealing with the European Union instead of dealing with the U.K., so it will probably kill the deal,” Trump told the paper.

He also said that he “would have done it much differently,” referring to the Brexit plan.

“I actually told Theresa May how to do it but she didn’t agree, she didn’t listen to me,” Trump said.

“She should negotiate the best way she knows how. But it is too bad what is going on.”

Trump also said in the interview that he “never said anything bad about” May, after The Washington Post reported that Trump thinks of the leader as a “bossy schoolteacher.”

“That is fake news. I think she is a nice person. I get along with her very nicely. The Washington Post is totally fake. They are just a lobbyist for Amazon,” he said.

Trump and May are set to meet again on Friday, and will hold a joint press conference.