UK, US offer different versions of Trump-May phone call

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

The White House and 10 Downing Street have very different versions of a Monday telephone chat between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Theresa May, the latest example of growing tensions between the longtime allies.

The British government issued its summary of the call first, contending May “raised the U.S. decision to apply tariffs to EU steel and aluminium imports.” Such “readouts” typically feature ample diplomat-speak, but this one insisted the British leader told Trump she believes the import fees are “unjustified and deeply disappointing.”

“The prime minister said the U.S., U.K. and EU are close national security allies and we recognise the importance of the values of open and fair trade across the world,” according to a Downing Street spokesman. “The prime minister also underlined the need to safeguard jobs that would potentially be affected by the decision.”

Almost 90 minutes later came the White House’s summary of the call, which did not mention any blunt tariff talk by Trump’s British counterpart. In fact, the U.S. version first mentioned Trump’s June 12 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and the situation in Syria, as well as “Iran’s destabilizing behavior, including in Yemen and Syria.”

It wasn’t until the statement’s fourth — of five — sentences that trade was mentioned. “The president further underscored the need to rebalance trade with Europe and expressed hope for a Brexit deal that does not increase tensions on the Northern Ireland border,” the White House said.

At issue are 25 percent tariffs on steel and 10 percent of aluminum that come from the European Union, fees Trump slapped on abruptly late last week even as the two sides were discussing possibly extending a temporary waiver the European bloc had been granted.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/uk-us-offer-different-versions-of-trump-may-phone-call/ar-AAye2u7?li=BBnb7Kz

[underpants]

1. Trump's phone call with Macron described as 'terrible'

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2018/06/04/politics/donald-trump-emmanuel-macron-call-terrible/index.html

"Just bad. It was terrible," one source told CNN. "Macron thought he would be able to speak his mind, based on the relationship. But Trump can't handle being criticized like that."

"This decision is not only illegal, it is a mistake on many points. It is a mistake because it responds to a worldwide unbalance that exists in the worst ways through fragmentations and economic nationalism," the statement continued, with Macron adding that "if these kind of things impacted our relations, it would have been the case since day one because he has decided to leave the Paris (climate) agreement."

"I prefer to say things directly and not through the press; and I will tell him what I told you, which are my convictions that he knows already," he said in the statement.

"I'm always extremely direct and frank. He is. Sometimes I manage to convince him, and sometimes I fail," Macron said at the time.