LONDON: As the helicopter-whisked dust settled on Donald Trump’s whirlwind visit to Britain, Fleet Street went into overdrive in giving its verdict on the president’s first visit since moving into the White House.Quentin Letts, political sketchwriter for the Daily Mail said of the US president: “Is he a braggart? Of course. He kept saying how great he was, what a great job he was doing, praising himself almost more than he praised his ‘incredible’ hostess (Prime Minister Theresa May).”Letts asked: “Does he bluster? You bet. Is he a bully? It is the bluster of a real estate deal-maker, of a man who, as he tours the world, stirs up as much dust as his helicopter’s blades. It is vulgar but it is also, after decades of political blandness, undeniably electrifying.”The Guardian said May should have grasped that the US president is an enemy of stability in Europe, adding now she should learn from her mistake.“It may once, but oh so briefly, have seemed like a good idea to invite Donald Trump to Britain. But for Theresa May it all turned into a wrecking visit by the ally from hell. To make things worse, it was entirely her own fault,” the editorial said.And yet, it added, some good may unexpectedly have come from the Trump visit.“Mrs May should have grasped from the very start that Mr Trump was not an ally when it came to her Brexit strategy. Mr Trump wants to break up international organisations like NATO and the EU. He embraced Brexit on that basis. He saw it as the start of a swing back towards nativist, illiberal, often racist nationalist politics, of which his own election was a further example.”The Guardian said for May, fighting to control her Conservative party on the dominant issue facing Britain, it was simply a stab in the back. “But it wasn’t fundamentally personal. It was a declaration of hostility to Britain and Europe and the values they stand for.”
07-15-2018, 06:21 AM
Fleet Street gives its take on Trump?s UK visit
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