Michael Gove has interviewed Donald Trump and erm... well...
Here are some of the highlights:
1) He Admits He Is Still Not A Politician
During the interview, Gove brought up the topic of the Iran nuclear deal struck by Obama’s administration, something Trump has repeatedly lambasted.
In his reply to Gove he said: “Well I don’t want to say what I’m gonna do with the Iran deal. I just don’t want to play the cards. I mean, look, I’m not a politician, I don’t go out and say, ‘I’m gonna do this’ — I’m gonna do, I gotta do what I gotta do...”
Trump’s inauguration is on Friday meaning he has four days to become not only a politician but the most powerful politician in the world.
2) His Response When Asked About A UK-US Trade Deal Was Incredibly Vague
One of the items at the top of Theresa May’s to-do list is to strike a new trade deal with the US when we’re no longer part of the European Union.
When questioned by Gove on this topic, Trump’s response was: “Absolutely, very quickly. I’m a big fan of the UK, we’re gonna work very hard to get it done quickly and done properly.
Gove pushed further asking if Britain was “at the front of the queue”.
Trump said: “I think you’re doing great.”
3) He Thinks Refugees Fleeing Syria Are ‘Illegals’
Trump calls Angela Merkel’s decision to accept unlimited Syrian refugees “one catastrophic mistake” before adding: “That was taking all of these illegals, you know taking all of the people from wherever they come from. And nobody even knows where they come from.”
Whilst describing why he thinks Britain voted for Brexit he also said: “People don’t want people coming in and destroying their country.”
Syrians fleeing the civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands of civilians are not illegal migrants they are refugees entitled to protection under international law.
4) He Never Misses A Chance To Brag
Humble, Trump is not.
“I own a big property in Ireland, magnificent property called Doonbeg”
“I was in Turnberry [his Scottish golf course] and was doing a ribbon cutting because I bought Turnberry, which is doing unbelievably, and I’ll tell you.”
5) He Thinks A Weak Pound Is A Good Thing
In fact he calls it “great”.
While it may be good news for exporters that can get higher prices for goods - assuming there is a demand for British products - it’s bad news for you the consumer.
Less holiday money due to exchange rates, more expensive imports such as petrol and inflation all mean less money in your pocket.
As Bilal Hafeez, currency strategist at Nomura, told the FT last year: “The market is a voting machine, and everybody is voting against the UK economy.”
6) He’s Still Referring To Himself In The Third Person
“I took a lot of heat for two days. And then they started saying Trump is right.”
7) His ‘Pessimistic’ View Of The EU Appears To Be Based Not On The EU
Erm...
Oh, and there’s also this.
In summary:
😱 😱 😱