Mr Trump sparked outrage when he said four outspoken liberal congresswomen should “go back and help fix” their “broken and crime infested” countries. In a series of inflammatory tweets posted overnight, Mr Trump said it was “so sad” to see Democrats supporting the women. While he did not name the four, he is believed to have been referring to congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Ayanna Pressley and Rashida Tlaib. Only Ms Omar, from Somalia, was not born in the US.
Downing Street made clear the Prime Minister’s view of Mr Trump’s comments.
Mrs May’s official spokesman said: “Her view is that the language which was used to refer to the women was completely unacceptable.”
The spokesman said he was not aware of any plans for Mrs May to speak to the president.
Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the president’s comments were “not OK and diplomatic politeness should not stop us saying so, loudly and clearly”.
Mr Trump hit out at the congresswomen “who originally came from countries whose governments are a complete and total catastrophe, the worst, most corrupt and inept anywhere in the world”.
He tweeted: “Why don’t they go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.”
His extraordinary comments led to attacks from senior Democrats, with presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren condemning the “racist and xenophobic attack” and another 2020 contender, former Texas representative Beto O’Rourke saying “this is racist”.
Despite the backlash over his comments, Mr Trump remained unrepentant and today suggested the congresswomen should apologise.
Relations between London and Washington have soured since the leak of sensitive diplomatic messages in which the UK’s ambassador to the US, Sir Kim Darroch, described Mr Trump as “incompetent”, “inept” and “insecure”.
Mr Trump responded with a furious attack against Sir Kim, branding him “wacky”, “very stupid” and “pompous”.
The US president said Sir Kim Darroch had been “foisted upon the United States” and is “not someone we are thrilled with”.
Sir Kim resigned after the leaks, saying his position had become “impossible” when Mr Trump said he was no longer someone the White House could work with.
