Andy Burnham has some tough words for Donald Trump, warning that he will always put Britain’s interests first, even if it means disagreeing publicly with the US president. In an interview with the BBC, when asked if he would call Trump out if it was the right thing to do, he said: ‘Of course.’ He went on to say:
You have to defend your own national interest before anything else. That’s what you’re required to do if you’re to do this job properly.
It is hard to imagine Trump quaking in his boots at the thought of a plain-speaking Burnham telling him how it is. The PM spoke at length to the US president shortly after he entered No. 10, in a call described by Downing Street officials as ‘warm’. But, when asked twice if he would trust Trump, he refused to say, answering, ‘it’s a changing world, isn’t it, and you just obviously have to call things as they develop.’
Burnham really should have found a way to answer the question and express confidence in Trump. It is a rookie mistake, one that will not have gone unnoticed in Washington.
Handling the relationship with the American president is no easy task
