Trump says he wasn’t for Brexit. That is a lie.
by digby
John Amato caught Trump’s photo op with the Irish PM this morning and it included a Trumpian whopper. Of course:
During their presser, Trump said he only predicted Brexit would pass, “and I was right,” and brought up his wacky Turnberry presser from 2016. Trump lied, of course.
Trump then blamed Teresa May for not listening to the worst negotiator on the planet. All of her deals with the EU have failed in Parliament.
“I’m surprised at how badly it has all gone from the standpoint of a negotiation. But I gave the prime minister my ideas how to negotiate it and I think you would have been successful. She didn’t listen to that and that’s fine. She gotta do what she’s gotta do,” Trump said.
Then Trump continued his support of the Brexit vote saying, “I don’t think another vote would be possible because it would be very unfair to the people who voted in that one.”
[…]
Leo Varadkar said, “We’ve a different opinion at present – I regret that Brexit’s happening. And the UK, it was a really important part of EU, but they’re going now and that’s their decision.He continued, “The most important things for us in Ireland is their decision to leave shouldn’t cause any problems in Northern Ireland who actually voted to stay. And that we shouldn’t have a hard border or anything to disrupt the peace process, and we also want to make sure we have frictionless trade.”
Trump lied when he said he wasn’t a supporter of Brexit in Turnberry back in 2016, because the vote supported his own xenophobic immigration policy. Here’s what he actually said via CNN.
“People want to take their country back and they want to have independence in a sense, and you see it in Europe, all over Europe,” Trump said. “They want to take their borders back, they want to take their monetary back. … I think you’re going to have this more and more.”
And then he said Brexit would be a good thing even if the pound goes down.
“If the pound goes down, they’ll do more business,” he said at his Turnberry golf resort. “I think places like Scotland and England, I think you’re going to see a lot of activity. I think it could well turn out to be a positive. What is known is that they’ve taken back their independence. I thought this would be a good thing. Some don’t like (it) and some do like it.”
“They will have the chance to reject today’s rule by the global elite, and to embrace real change that delivers a government of, by and for the people,” Trump added. “I hope America is watching, it will soon be time to believe in America again.”
If that isn’t full-throttled support of the Brexit vote, then my uncle is my mother.
After the Irish PM spoke out against Brexit, Trump then attacked the EU, threatening severe stuff economically against them.
Trump said, “We’re talking about trade with the European Union. They’ve been very, very tough over the years,” Trump said. “If they don’t talk to us, we’re going to do something that’s going to be pretty severe economically. We’re going to tariff a lot of their products.”
Recall that Trump hadn’t heard of Brexit just a month before the vote, but he thought it was good idea when he heard about it:
“And Brexit? Your position?” I ask.
“Huh?”
“Brexit.”
“Hmm.”
“The Brits leaving the EU,” I prompt, realizing that his lack of familiarity with one of the most pressing issues in Europe is for him no concern nor liability at all.
“Oh yeah, I think they should leave.”
Fox News, May 2016 before the vote:
“I think the migration has been a horrible thing for Europ. A lot of that was pushed by the EU. I would say that they’re better off without it, personally, but I’m not making that as a recommendation. Just my feeling. I know Great Britain very wellI know, you know, the country very well. I have a lot of investments there. I would say that they’re better off without it. But I want them to make their own decision.”
If you want to read something that should have scared every American into voting for Clinton, that campaign press conference in Scotland promoting his Turnberry property is worth re-reading. The man is, and was, an imbecile on foreign policy. But we knew that.
.