Donald Trump has demonstrated his limited knowledge of the UK public and the influence of Theresa May by saying he will not come to Britain for his controversial state visit until he is sure of getting a “better reception”, it has been reported.
The President was said to have told the Prime Minister he had not had “great coverage” in the UK and had urged her to “fix it for me”, according to The Sun on Sunday.
It was originally reported last month that Trump had informed May that he did not want to go ahead with the visit if there were likely to be large-scale protests, reports the Press Association.
The Sun on Sunday said it had now obtained a transcript of their telephone conversation in which Trump said: “I haven’t had great coverage out there lately, Theresa.”
May replied: “Well, you know what the British press are like.”
He said: “I still want to come, but I’m in no rush. So, if you can fix it for me, it would make things a lot easier.
“When I know I’m going to get a better reception, I’ll come and not before.”
The PM is not in a particularly strong position to influence public perception after a disastrous General Election result and a string of failed and botched public appearances.
May was widely criticised for bestowing such a controversial figure the honour of a state visit so early in his presidency when she met Mr Trump for the first time in the White House in January.
However no date has yet been set for the visit - which had originally been expected to take place this year - prompting speculation that it could be delayed until next year at the earliest.
Trump confirmed that he still intended to come to London when he met May last week at the G20 summit in Hamburg, while Downing Street has said they are still working on dates.
Trump isn’t faring much better at home according to the latest approval ratings which has dropped from 42% in April to a lowly 36%.
His disapproval rating has risen five points to 58% and 48% in total say they “disapprove strongly” of his presidency, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.
Ratings as poor as this were never reached by Bill Clinton or Barack Obama and it took George W. Bush until his troubled second term in office to hit similar numbers.
The latest scandal to hit Trump is the latest revelations in the ongoing Russia saga.
Emails released by his son, Don Jr, caused an uproar when they showed he and two other close associates attended a meeting with a Russian lawyer under the impression she had damaging information on Hillary Clinton that was “part of Russia and it’s government’s support for Mr Trump”.
Don Jr. posted his emails with publicist Rob Goldstone on Twitter on Tuesday afternoon in which he tells a person promising him damaging information about Hillary Clinton: “If it’s what you say I love it.”
Journalists who have been working on the story for months were left flabbergasted.