Trump says he supports UK leaving EU without a Brexit deal

by Justin Wise - 06/02/19 7:14 AM ET

President Trump said in an interview published Sunday that he would support the United Kingdom leaving the European Union without a Brexit deal if U.K. officials can’t reach an agreement with EU leaders.

“If they don’t get what they want, I would walk away,” Trump told Britain’s Sunday Times just before his state visit to the U.K., which will be hosted by Queen Elizabeth II. “Yes, 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.”

{mosads}The Associated Press noted that Trump also said that the U.K. should refuse to pay a divorce bill of 39 billion pounds if it fails to get better terms from the EU. He added that Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage should be involved in negotiations related to the issue.

Trump has weighed in on U.K. politics on multiple occasions in the past week. He told The Sun in an interview published Friday that Boris Johnson “would do a very good job” if he were to replace Theresa May atop the Conservative Party’s leadership.

“I think Boris would do a very good job. I think he would be excellent,” Trump said. “I like him. I have always liked him. I don’t know that he is going to be chosen, but I think he is a very good guy, a very talented person.

May said she would step down in early June after failing to garner support for her Brexit plan.

Fifty-two percent of British voters supported a referendum in 2016 to leave the EU. But the government has struggled to formulate a transition plan. For example, the House of Commons has rejected Brexit deals from May on multiple occasions this year.

The EU agreed to delay the U.K. departure from the block until Oct. 31 after an emergency summit with May in mid-April. The agreement included an additional review on June 30 to determine if the U.K. can leave earlier.

Tags Donald Trump Theresa May