Donald Trump’s interview with Michael Gove for The Times tells us many, many things but one of the most significant is the way Theresa May’s government is both buttering him up and relying on the president-elect.
British prime ministers don’t get to choose who they have to work with in the White House and May and her closest aides had been quite clear what they thought of “Trump the chump” being “divisive and wrong” in the past.
Downing Street have clearly decided that in a post-Brexit world they need America on side and are using every trick in the book to elbow Britain’s way to the front of the queue.
Notably, Trump reveals May wrote to him last month with the gift of a copy of a Christmas Eve speech by Winston Churchill, given shortly after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, to convince the president-elect of the importance of the special relationship. The offer of a state visit to the UK clearly also appeals to a man who boasts his mother was “so proud of the Queen”.
It seems to have worked. May will visit him “right after” he gets into the White House, Trump reveals.
Advertisement
On the big issue of the day, the self-styled dealmaker says he will offer Britain a quick and fair trade deal with America within weeks of taking office to help make Brexit a “great thing”.
Asked outright by Gove if Britain was at the front of the queue, he replied “I think you’re doing great.” Critics will say this lacks firm commitment, No 10 will be happy, though.
Which is more than can be said for Angela Merkel. The interview was carried out jointly with the German newspaper Bild, and Trump accuses Merkel of a “catastrophic mistake” in allowing migrants into her country.
He goes on to accuse Germany of dominating the EU, which he thinks could collapse altogether as voters demand their own identity.
One other person who gets a namecheck is the party leader-turned radio host Nigel Farage, although it’s not clear they are in regular contact: “How is our Nigel doing? I like him, I think he’s a great guy.”
Advertisement
In the fascinating interview, Trump offers a reduction in nuclear weapons in return for lifting sanctions on Russia, criticises Putin’s role in Syria, commits to a strong Nato, confirms Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, will broker a Middle East peace deal and criticises the Iran nuclear deal.
Almost as revealing as what he said was where he said it. Trump’s office is like an easy episode of Through the Keyhole, with the wall providing countless clues to who would work in a tower like this: the books, the honours, the photographs, the Playboy cover.
The full quotes confirm, if there was any doubt, that yes, he really is like that all the time. (On ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Gove said he found Trump “an electric figure, charismatic but warmer close-up than you’d imagine”.)
In addition to Trump’s commitment to carry on tweeting from the Oval Office (“I can go bing bing bing”), for me one of the most telling lines came when Trump was discussing the deal with Iran, which gives insight into the way he sees himself: “I mean, look, I’m not a politician, I don’t go out and say, ‘I’m gonna do this’ — I’m gonna do, I gotta do what I gotta do...”
He might not think he’s a politician but in four short days he will be the 45th president of the United States. Brace yourselves.