DONALD Trump refused to answer a question about Jeffrey Epstein and Peter Mandelson during his second state visit to the UK.
At a press conference at Chequers with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the US president was asked about the recent sacking of the UK Ambassador to the US due to his ties to the late paedophile financier.
“If I may, the elephant in the room – Lord Mandelson. He is no longer the ambassador,” Sky’s Beth Rigby said.
“Do you have some sympathy with him that he lost his job over historic links to Jeffrey Epstein?”
Trump was also close to the paedophile financier, although the president fell out with him before his conviction in 2009.
“I don’t know him actually,” Trump said.
“I had heard that, and I think maybe the Prime Minister would be better speaking of that. It was a choice that he made and I don’t know.”
Speaking directly to Starmer, Trump said: “What is your answer to that?”
The Prime Minister replied: “It’s very straightforward. Some information came to light last week which wasn’t available when he was appointed, and I made a decision about it, and that’s very clear.”
Speaking to journalists, Trump also described Starmer’s plan to recognise a Palestinian state as “one of our few disagreements”.
“I have a disagreement with the Prime Minister on that score, one of our few disagreements actually,” he said when asked about the British plan to recognise Palestinian statehood.
Meanwhile, Starmer insisted his decision to recognise Palestinian statehood had nothing to do with Trump’s state visit.
Asked by journalists about the timing of his plan for recognition, the Prime Minister said: “On the question of recognition, I made my position clear at the end of July, so the timing, it’s got nothing to do with this state visit.
“I’ve discussed it with the President, as you would expect, amongst two leaders who respect each other and like each other, and want to bring about a better solution in the best way that we can.”
Trump described the October 7 attacks on Israel as “one of the worst days in the history of humanity” when asked whether he would call on Benjamin Netanyahu to end his ground offensive in Gaza.
The US president insisted he wanted to see the hostages returned, and not in a “piecemeal” fashion.
Pressed whether he would then call for an end to the war if this condition was met, Trump said: “Well, it would certainly help. But I have to have the hostages back.”
