The US President criticised his British counterpart for ignoring his tips on how to strike a good deal with Brussels and said he regretted seeing “everything being ripped apart” as the Brexit crisis deepens. Mr Trump made the comments during a press conference with Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar in the Oval Office yesterday. He said: “I’m surprised at how badly it’s all gone from the standpoint of a negotiation.
“I gave the prime minister my ideas on how to negotiate it and I think you would have been successful.
“She didn’t listen to that and that’s fine – she’s got to do what she’s got to do.
“I think it could have been negotiated in a different manner, frankly. I hate to see everything being ripped apart now.”
His comments came on a crucial week for Brexit, as MPs first voted against Mrs May’s amended deal, then rejected leaving the bloc with no deal before opting to request an extension to Article 50 on Thursday.
Mr Trump told reporters he did not believe a second Brexit referendum could be justified, saying it would be “unfair” to the 52 percent of Britons who voted Leave.
He said: “I don’t think another vote would be possible because it would be very unfair to the people that won.
“They’d say, what do you mean you’re going to take another vote?”
The president, who described Brexit as a”beautiful, beautiful thing” during a visit to Scotland in June 2016, said the UK’s divorce from the EU is “tearing apart” Britain and other member states which he believes is “a shame”.
But he added “I think we will stay right in our lane”, and stressed his belied that leaving the EU remains in the best interest for the UK.
But despite criticising Mrs May’s approach at the negotiating table, Mr Trump reiterated his desire for a strong UK-US trade deal.
He said: “We’re talking to them about trade. We can do a very big trade deal with the UK.”
Mr Trump, who was hosting Mr Varadkar for the annual St Patrick’s Day visit to Washington, had earlier taken to Twitter to to express his hopes for a future working relationship with Britain.
He wrote on Twitter: “My administration looks forward to negotiating a large scale trade deal with the United Kingdom. The potential is unlimited!”
On Thursday MPs voted 413 to 202 – a majority of 211 for Mrs May to ask the EU for a delay to Brexit.
Despite the vote, an extension may not be secured beyond the March 29 deadline if each of the 27 other EU member states does not agree to grant it.
