President Trump
Donald John TrumpTrump congratulates Washington Nationals on World Series win Trump hints that dog injured in al-Baghdadi raid will visit White House Vindman says White House lawyer moved Ukraine call to classified server: report MORE on Thursday warned that Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn would be "so bad" for the United Kingdom, prompting the British politician to accuse Trump of seeking to interfere in the country's upcoming general election.
The president phoned into a London radio show hosted by Nigel Farage, the controversial leader of the Brexit Party who is an adamant Trump supporter. During the call, Trump weighed in on the potential ripple effects of a Brexit deal and expressed admiration for Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
"I have great relationships with many of the leaders, including Boris," Trump said. "He’s a fantastic man. And I think he’s the exact right guy for the times."
"And Corbyn would be so bad for your country," Trump said of the Labour Party leader. "He’d be so bad he’d take you in such a bad way. He’d take you into such bad places. But your country has potential potential. It’s a great country."
Corbyn on Thursday accused Trump of "trying to interfere in Britain’s election to get his friend Boris Johnson elected."
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) October 31, 2019Donald Trump is trying to interfere in Britain’s election to get his friend Boris Johnson elected.
It was Trump who said in June the NHS is “on the table”. And he knows if Labour wins US corporations won’t get their hands on it.
Our NHS is not for sale.pic.twitter.com/AUhht3pCgL
Trump's comments came about six weeks before the United Kingdom holds a special election called by Johnson as part of an effort to strengthen his hand and break the gridlock around Brexit negotiations.
Johnson's Conservative Party and Corbyn's Labour Party are viewed as the two most likely groups to seize the majority in parliament. The two party leaders differ on how to achieve Brexit and have contrasting relationships with Trump.
Trump has described Johnson as the British version of himself and spoken fondly of him, while Corbyn has positioned himself as an outspoken critic of the president.
The president largely avoided weighing in on the specifics of Brexit negotiations, other than to caution that the agreement being weighed could limit the ability of the U.S. and U.K. to negotiate a bilateral trade agreement.
Trump went on to deny that he was interested in including the National Health Service (NHS) in trade negotiations, and claimed Corbyn had pushed a rumor that he was.
But the president himself stirred confusion during a visit to London earlier this year when he said "everything" was on the table, a comment he later walked back to exclude the NHS.