Trump Offers Apology For Retweeting Anti-Muslim Videos From British Far-Right Party

Former Celebrity Apprentice winner and host of Good Morning Britain Piers Morgan interviewed President Trump on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

It was the first international TV interview with Trump since his inauguration one year ago.

Trump has been in hot water with British Prime Minister Theresa May for retweeting in November anti-Muslim videos that were posted by the deputy leader of the far-right Britain First party.

Good Morning Britain reports:

"Trump said he was sorry for retweeting the anti-Muslim videos which sparked outrage in Britain.

Trump told Morgan: 'If you're telling me they're horrible racist people, I would certainly apologize if you would like me to do that.'

The president said he has a 'very good relationship' with Prime Minister Theresa May and praised her for doing 'a very good job.'

Trump told Morgan that he was unaware of who the Britain First group was when he shared three of the far-right party's posts.

Trump's retweets caused a firestorm in the U.K., as Laurel Wamsley reported for The Two-Way in November:

"British politicians are loudly condemning President Trump's retweets of incendiary anti-Muslim videos posted by a leader of the far-right Britain First party.

'President Trump has used Twitter to promote a vile, extremist group that exists solely to sow division and hatred in our country,' tweeted London Mayor Sadiq Khan. "It's increasingly clear that any official visit from President Trump to Britain would not be welcomed."

The president announced earlier this month that he has canceled a February trip to the U.K., citing a "bad deal" the Obama administration made for a new U.S. Embassy in London.

NPR's Scott Neuman reported for the Two-Way:

The president accepted the queen's invitation for a state visit when he met with Prime Minister Theresa May in July at the G-20 summit in Hamburg, Germany. The trip had tentatively been planned to begin around the end of February.

In a tweet posted just before 1 a.m. on Friday [Jan. 12], the president said he had decided against the trip because "I am not a big fan of the Obama Administration having sold perhaps the best located and finest embassy in London for 'peanuts,' only to build a new one in an off location for 1.2 billion dollars. Bad deal. Wanted me to cut ribbon-NO!"

On Thursday, Trump met in Davos with May in what British newspapers were calling a clear-the-air session.

NPR's Scott Horsley reported that the two leaders have squabbled in the past, but they downplayed any friction in the trans-Atlantic alliance.

Trump told the prime minister: "That was little bit of a false rumor out there. I just wanted to correct it frankly because we have great respect for everything you're doing."

May responded, "We continue to have a really special relationship between the U.K. and the United States."

With her country pulling out of the European Union, May is eager to strike a bilateral trade deal with the United States.

Trump says he welcomes that. He prefers one-on-one trade negotiations to big, multicountry deals.

White House economic adviser Gary Cohn says Trump will discuss his trade philosophy in a speech in Davos on Friday.

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