Donald Trump has given a wide-ranging interview to Piers Morgan for ITV. In it, the US president claimed he was popular in the UK despite calls for protests if he takes up Theresa May’s invite for a state visit; said he did not know if he had been invited to Prince Harry’s wedding; said women liked his strong support for the military; and defended his fondness for junk food.
On his popularity in Britain
“I think I’m very popular in your country.”
Morgan interjected: “Let’s not be too hasty, Mr President.”
Trump continued: “I know, but I believe that, I really do. I get so much fan mail from people in your country. They love my sense of security, they love what I’m saying about many different things. We get tremendous support from people in the UK.”
Trump, whose mother was born on the Hebridean island of Lewis, added: “The real me is somebody that loves Britain, loves the UK. I love Scotland.
“One of the biggest problems I have in winning, I won’t be able to get back there so often. I would love to go there.”
BREAKING NEWS:
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) January 27, 2018
President Trump has declared he is NOT a feminist.
He tells me: ‘No, I wouldn't say I'm a feminist. I mean, I think that would be, maybe, going too far. I'm for women, I'm for men, I’m for everyone.'
Full interview, Sunday, ITV, 10pm. pic.twitter.com/GCviovNb6o
On Jeremy Corbyn
Asked about opposition to his proposed state visit by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, Trump said: “I don’t know the man.”
As for calls to ban him from visiting Britain, he added: “Well, that’s their problem. I could very nicely stay home.”
On the royal wedding
Asked if he had received an invitation to the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle later this year, Trump replied: “Not that I know of.”
“I really want them to be happy. They look like a lovely couple,” he said, when pressed on disparaging comments Markle previously made about the president. There has also been speculaton that the couple will snub Trump by inviting Barack Obama, a friend of the prince.
Not sure I think @piersmorgan interview of Trump is best scheduled late on a Sunday night, which should be relax time. Yet it does feel like a must watch, so I will steel myself.
— Martin Lewis (@MartinSLewis) January 28, 2018
On support from women
“There’s nobody better than me on the military. I think women really like that. I think they want to be safe at home,” Trump said. “I have tremendous respect for women.”
Trump was asked: are you a feminist?
“No, I wouldn’t say I’m a feminist,” he said. “I mean, I think that would be, maybe, going too far. I’m for women, I’m for men, I’m for everyone.”
On Emmanuel Macron
“He’s a great guy. His wife is fantastic. I like them a lot. You know, we had dinner at the top of the Eiffel Tower, and everything was closed.”
On Twitter
“If I don’t have that form of communication I can’t defend myself. I get a lot of fake news, a lot of news that is very false or made up.”
It was a crazy situation, he said, that many people in the world waited for his tweets. He usually tweets himself, sometimes from bed.
When asked about whether he was lying in bed with his phone thinking of how to wind people up, Trump said: “Well, perhaps sometimes in bed, perhaps sometimes at breakfast or lunch or whatever, but generally speaking during the early morning, or during the evening I can do whatever, but I am very busy during the day, very long hours. I am busy.”
“I will sometimes just dictate out something really quickly and give it to one of my people to put it on,” he said.
On climate change
“There is a warming and there is a cooling … I believe in crystal-clear beautiful water. I believe in just having good cleanliness and all.”
The President of the United States @realDonaldTrump is asked if he believes in climate change. This is his answer: #TrumpMorgan pic.twitter.com/sKeVM9FL4l
— Daniel Hewitt (@DanielHewittITV) January 28, 2018
On his diet
Asked about eating burgers and drinking Diet Coke, Trump, 71, said: “I eat fine food, really from some of the finest chefs in the world, I eat healthy food, I also have some of that food on occasion. I think I eat actually quite well.”
