US and UK have agreed to pursue an ‘ambitious’ trade deal

BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI | AFP| Getty Images

British Prime Minister Theresa May and US President Donald Trump wait for a meeting at the Palace Hotel in New York.

President Donald Trump sought to walk back some of his scornful rhetoric towards U.K. leader Theresa May Friday morning.

“Whatever you do is okay with us, just make sure we can trade together,” Trump said on Friday.

May said President Donald Trump had agreed to pursue an ambitious transatlantic trade agreement, shortly after holding talks at Chequers.

“We agreed today that as the U.K. leaves the European Union, we will pursue an ambitious U.S.-U.K. free trade agreement,” May said, while speaking alongside Trump on Friday afternoon.

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Ahead of the press conference at the country retreat on Friday, the U.S. president sought to comprehensively undermine May’s government with a stunning rebuke of her approach to Brexit negotiations.

In an interview with The Sun newspaper published late Thursday, Trump said May had ignored his advice on Brexit by pursuing a softened approach to talks with the EU. He also warned that such a move would “probably kill” off any chance of May getting a free trade deal with the world’s largest economy.

It was seen as an astonishing political attack on Britain’s leader, and one which could aggravate her increasingly fragile position in government amid torturous negotiations with the rest of the bloc.

Trump’s intervention in British domestic politics comes at a time of heightened political turmoil in Westminster. Over the past week, three of May’s cabinet ministers — including former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson — have resigned citing irrevocable differences over Downing Street’s approach to Brexit.

The U.S. president also told The Sun that he believed Johnson had all the attributes to become a “great prime minister,” describing him as a “very talented guy.”

The comments were reflective of Trump’s willingness to criticize or even demean key Western allies in order to try to enhance his own political agenda.