Donald Trump unloaded on a BBC reporter and said Keir Starmer is in "a lot of trouble" after his blockbuster trip to China ended with little progress. The US President claimed America had made "great, great deals" with China, but could only name one - a commitment to ordering 200 aeroplanes from Boeing.
Summit Results Disappoint
Tariffs were not discussed, Trump said on Air Force One after leaving the summit. There was no movement towards the release of political prisoner Jimmy Lai. While Trump said the pair discussed Taiwan "a lot," he acknowledged there had been no change to American policy over the island.
BBC Confrontation
A question from the BBC about an incident at the beginning of the Iran war, where a US strike reportedly hit a school killing 110 children, appeared to irritate Trump. After saying the incident was still under investigation, Trump asked: "Who are you with?" Told the reporter was from the BBC, Trump snapped back: "Fake BBC."
"You mean the ones that put AI in my mouth?" He said. "The ones that gave me that made had me saying a statement that they now admit was not true. The ones that put terrible words in my mouth and then had to admit that it was fake. The ones that are being sued now for $5 billion and don't know what to do? You're with BBC. They're another fake outfit."
Trump's lurid accusations against the BBC are not true. While the BBC has apologised for how clips of his January 6th speech was edited for a Panorama programme, there is no suggestion AI was used to put words in his mouth. The clips used by the BBC in the programme were all of things Trump actually said.
Starmer Under Fire
The US President also had terse words for Keir Starmer, whom he said was in "a lot of trouble." But Trump did not appear aware of the moves towards a leadership contest in the UK, instead returning to his usual criticism of Starmer over immigration, oil drilling and the use of wind energy.
Asked if Starmer could survive as PM, Trump said: "It's a tough thing. Unless he can straighten out immigration where he's weak and uh if he doesn't start drilling and stop with the windmills all over the place and are causing havoc. They're causing havoc. Most expensive form of energy. They kill the birds. They're unsightly. They're ruining the landscape. If he doesn't stop with the windmills, he's got to do energy. Got to he's got to open up the North Sea."
Trump's vendetta against wind energy dates back to a court battle in the early 2000s against the Scottish Government, over plans for a wind farm off the coast of Aberdeenshire that is now visible from his Trump International golf resort.
Asked if he thought President Xi was a dictator, Trump said: "I don't think about it. He's the ruler...he's the President of China. I don't think about it. You deal with what you have. I respect him."
