Donald Trump has mocked MPs who branded him a “wazzock”, “buffoon” and “fool” when they attempted to have the US Presidential hopeful banned from the UK for his anti-Muslim remarks.
He also claimed the “craziness” over the Europe’s immigration crisis will drive the UK from the EU at June’s in-out referendum.
Speaking to Piers Morgan on ITV’s Good Morning Britain, the property tycoon dismissed a petition last year signed by more than half-a-million people, calling for him to be barred from entering the UK, as a “little movement” that “fizzled out”
He claimed “very few people ever even showed up” when MPs debated the issue at Westminster Hall debate in Parliament.
At the time, some MPs likened Trump to a “hate preacher”, but others thought a ban would only serve to “fuel to the media circus and would be a headline around the world”.
But Trump appeared unfazed by the criticism for calling for Muslims to be barred temporarily from entering the US.
He said: “You know very few people even showed up to discuss it when they talked about that ban, that so-called ban, how crazy it is. But very few people ever even showed up to discuss it. You saw what happened, it just fizzled out.”
He branded the attempt “disgraceful” and said “thousands and thousands of people” agreed with him, and took issue with London mayor Boris Johnson for going “very strong against me” and arguing “they have no problems in London at all”.
He added: “As you know that ban went nowhere, it shouldn’t have gone anywhere, it was a disgraceful thing but it went nowhere, but a lot of people and I mean thousands and thousands of people were tweeting saying you’re right, you’re right Mr Trump, your right and so I don’t know what's going on over there but I can tell you there is some unrest and you know that Piers.”
He added: “The number of people that support me over there is incredible, I have never seen anything like it, it was like an outpouring of love. And that's why that thing never went, you know very few people even showed up to discuss it when they talked about that ban, that so-called ban, how crazy it is. But very few people ever even showed up to discuss it. You saw what happened, it just fizzled out."
When asked whether it would be a good time for Britain to separate itself from the European Union, Trump, whose mother was born in Scotland, said: “I think maybe it's time, especially in light of what's happened, with the craziness that's going on with the migration, with people pouring in all over the place. I think that Britain will end up separating from the EU, that's my opinion. I'm not endorsing it one way or the other but that's my opinion. I think a lot of people want to see that happen.”
In the first part of the interview yesterday, Trump called for British Muslims to do more to root out extremism - comments condemned as misleading by the Muslim Council of Britain.