During a joint press conference at the prime minister’s country home in Chequers, Trump was asked to elaborate on his comments on immigration — published in the Sun newspaper on Thursday — in which he said “allowing the immigration to take place in Europe is a shame.”
“I think it’s been very bad for Europe,” Trump said. “I think it’s been very bad for Europe. Europe is a place I know very well, and I think that what has happened is very tough. It’s a very tough situation. I mean, you see the same terror attacks that I do. You see them a lot.”
“I think it’s changing the culture,” the president continued. “I think it’s a very negative thing for Europe. I think it’s very negative.”
Trump added: “I know it’s politically not necessarily correct to say that, but I’ll say it and I’ll say it loud.”
He, once again, falsely linked immigration to terrorism, saying, “You see the same terror attacks that I do. We see the a lot.”
Theresa May, who spoke a few minutes after Trump, however, relayed a completely different message.
"The UK has a proud history of welcoming people who are fleeing persecution to our country," said the prime minister. "We have a proud history of welcoming people who want to come to our country to contribute to our economy and contribute to our society."
This was not the first time Trump was using tough rhetoric on immigration during his visit to the UK. In an interview with The Sun on Thursday, he claimed that Britain is “losing its culture” because of immigration, which he described as dangerous.
The US president’s attitude towards immigration, including travel restrictions on citizens of some Muslim countries as well as the controversial policy of separating Central American immigrant children from their parents at the southern border, is seen as racist by many in Europe.
The policies helped fuel huge demonstrations, which have been taking place in London for three consecutive days since his arrival to the country on Thursday.
