Donald Trump revealed today he turned down a request from ‘negative force’ Jeremy Corbyn for a face-to-face meeting during his state visit to Britain.
Addressing reporters alongside Theresa May, Mr Trump hit out at the hard Left Labour leader minutes after he had addressed a protest in central London against the US president’s presence.
Speaking in the opulent surroundings of the Foreign Office after holding talks with Mrs May, Mr Trump said: ‘He wanted to meet today or tomorrow and I decided I would not do that.
‘I think he is from where I come from somewhat of a negative force.
‘I think the people should look to do things correctly as opposed to criticise – I really don’t like critics as much as I like and respect people who get things done – so I decided not to meet.’
The Labour leader has spoken at a mass demonstration against the US president – after snubbing an invite to a state banquet with the Queen last night.
His furious language in central London will heighten fears that a Corbyn premiership could lay waste to the Special Relationship.
Mr Trump dismissed protests as ‘fake news’ and insisted there had been ‘thousands of people cheering’ before admitting: ‘I did see a small protest today when I came – very small.’
The Trump Babysitters group estimated tens of thousands of protesters were involved in the demonstrations – fewer than an estimated 250,000 who gathered when Mr Trump visited the UK on July 13 last year.
Addressing reporters alongside Theresa May, Mr Trump hit out at the hard Left Labour leader minutes after he had addressed a protest in central London against the state visit
Speaking in the opulent surroundings of the Foreign Office after holding talks with Mrs May, Mr Trump said: ‘He (Corbyn) wanted to meet with me and I said no’
Ms Thornberry said Mr Trump does not ‘deserve the honour’ of a state visit because of his views on woman and Muslims
Mr Corbyn leaving Whitehall with Diane Abbott under a police escort after giving a speech against Donald Trump this afternoon
It came after one of Mr Corbyn’s top lieutenants blasted the president as a ‘sexual predator’ and ‘a racist’ as Labour reinforced its controversial opposition to the US president’s visit.
Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry lashed out at the American leader over his treatment of women, Muslims and refugees on his second day in the UK.
A Labour spokesman said: ‘Jeremy Corbyn proposed a meeting with Donald Trump during the president’s visit.
‘Jeremy is ready to engage with the president on a range of issues, including the climate emergency, threats to peace and the refugee crisis.’
Addressing a crowd in Whitehall Mr Corbyn obliquely accusing the president of ‘creating a sense of hate’ and fostering racism.
In an extraordinary speech for a politician who could one day have to work with Mr Trump, the Labour leader did not mention the President by name but played on familiar themes of his critics in a high-energy speech.
Mr Corbyn also sprang to the defence of London Mayor Sadiq Khan one day after he was called a ‘stone cold loser’ by Mr Trump – and suggested the President had ‘created a greater sense of hate and hatred’.
Mr Trump used his press conference to reignite his row with Mr Khan – after blasting him as a ‘stone cold loser’ in a pre-arrival tweet yesterday.
The US leader said: ‘I think he has been a not very good mayor from what I understand.
‘He has done a poor job, crime is up, a lot of problems, and I don’t think he should be criticising a representative of the US that can do so much good for the UK…
‘He should be positive not negative – he is a negative force not a positive force.
‘If you look at what he said, he hurts the people of this great country and I think he should actually focus on his job, it would be a lot better if he did that – he could straighten out some of the problems that he has caused.’
Ms Thornberry earlier revealed to LBC that she wrote to Buckingham Palace to ask not to be invited in Mr Corbyn’s place to last night’s banquet.
Speaking separately to the BBC she said Mr Trump does not ‘deserve the honour’ of a state visit.
She told Radio 4’s Today programme: ‘The truth is he has tried to close borders with Muslim-majority countries, he is caging small Mexican children, he has grabbed women and boasted about it.
‘He is a sexual predator, he is a racist and it’s right to say that – we need to think about when is it our country got so scared?’
The attacks on Mr Trump contrast sharply with Mr Corbyn’s decision to attend a similar event to honour China’s communist premier in 2015.
The move was condemned as ‘hysterical’ and ‘virtue signalling’ by MPs from across parties, who warned it risked damaging the Special Relationship.
Ms Thornberry and fellow frontbencher Diane Abbott joined protesters who will fly an offensive blimp portraying the President as an angry baby in a nappy.
Addressing a crowd in Whitehall Mr Corbyn obliquely accusing the president of ‘creating a sense of hate’ and fostering racism
Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott was among Labour MPs who joined Mr Corbyn at the rally in London today
Donald Trump met Theresa May at Downing Street this morning, where they will hold talks and view the Cabinet war Rooms
Protesters gathered in parliament Square earlier where a giant Trump ‘baby blimp’ was inflated. A demonstration will take place in Trafalgar Square later
A pro-Trump supporter was hit with a milkshake during the rally outside Parliament today during the president’s visit
People were also handing out Donald Trump toilet paper
Mr Trump’s three-day state visit to Britain kicked off yesterday with an extraordinary row between him and Sadiq Khan.
London’s Labour mayor had used a newspaper article at the weekend to accuse the President of resembling a ’20th century fascist’.
After landing at Stansted Mr Trump blasted the mayor in a series of tweets, branding him a ‘stone cold loser’.
And Mr Corbyn then announced that he would be addressing protesters today.
People carrying signs and banners have already gathered in Trafalgar Square to demonstrate against the state visit of President Donald Trump
Protesters attempted to remind Mr Trump of the potential trouble he is facing domestically while he is in London
The veteran left-winger, who has spent decades campaigning against US influence around the world, claimed it was an opportunity to stand in solidarity with those Mr Trump has attacked in America, around the world and in our own country.
His decision came despite a warning from Mr Trump at the weekend that intelligence sharing with the UK could be threatened under a hard-Left Labour government unless Mr Corbyn made efforts to get along with Washington.
Former Australian high commissioner Alexander Downer compared Mr Corbyn’s anti-American stance with his willingness to don white tie for a state banquet in honour of Chinese ruler Xi Jinping in 2015.
He added: ‘I talked to Jeremy Corbyn at the state banquet for unelected Xi Jinping but he boycotts the elected President of the United States. What are the real values of the modern left?’
Labour MP Kate Hoey criticised her party’s hostile approach toward the President.
Ms Hoey said she was ‘saddened by the hysterical reaction’ of some senior figures, adding: ‘A democratically elected president of our closest ally should be welcomed whether we agree with his views or not.’
A 16ft talking robot of US President Donald Trump sitting on a gold toilet has been placed in Trafalgar Square
Crowds gathered in front of the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square this morning as Mr Trump met Theresa May at Downing Street
Mr Trump’s three-day state visit to Britain began yesterday with a row between him and Sadiq Khan. London’s Labour mayor had used a newspaper article at the weekend to accuse the President of resembling a ’20th century fascist’
After landing at Stansted Mr Trump blasted the mayor in a series of tweets, branding him a ‘stone cold loser’
And Barrow and Furness MP John Woodcock, who quit Labour in protest at Mr Corbyn’s leadership, tweeted that Mr Corbyn was putting thousands of jobs at risk.
‘A lamentable disgrace Jeremy Corbyn and Labour’s would-be foreign secretary are joining street protests against the US President rather than taking this opportunity to engage to tell him why he’s wrong,’ Mr Woodcock said.
‘Underlines that the UK’s security partnership with America would be over the moment these jokers take office, God forbid.
‘The US would pull back from sharing intelligence with Corbyn and pull the plug on cooperation over the submarine programme – threatening the UK’s nuclear deterrent and thousands of jobs in Barrow and across the country.’