WASHINGTON (AP) – Prime Minister Theresa May went to Washington, and President Donald Trump extended the hand of friendship. Literally.
May left Washington after a 24-hour visit as Saturday’s British newspapers splashed front-page photos of the two leaders touching hands as they walked at the White House before a strikingly collegial news conference.
May wanted her meeting, Trump’s first as president with a foreign leader, to revitalize the trans-Atlantic “special relationship.” She got her wish – delighting those who think Trump’s presidency will be good for Britain but alarming others who loathe the brash Republican populist.
She goes home – after a stop in Turkey Saturday to meet President Recep Tayyip Erdogan – with Trump’s promise to seek an early trade deal with Britain once it leaves the European Union, a commitment from the president not to abandon NATO and Trump’s praise for what he called “this most special relationship.”
Trump gets an invitation from Queen Elizabeth II to come for a state visit later this year – a treat for a president with Scottish roots and a taste for opulence.