USA22 September, 20262 min read
Trump Says He Can Do Business With Andy Burnham After UN Meeting, Calls Chagos Deal Terrible
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Trump says he can do business with Andy Burnham after UNGA meeting. Chagos handover to Mauritius is a terrible deal.
5 outlets told this the same way.
Trump, Burnham Meet
Donald Trump told reporters that he can do business with Andy Burnham after the two leaders met in person for the first time on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. Trump said UK-US relations are "more up now" that Burnham is in power, and Burnham said he had "established a good connection" with Trump and they had "taken that further today". Trump also made clear his opposition to the UK's "terrible" deal to hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius and pay to lease back a joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia.
Burnham later said he had explained to Trump that Britain has been in "too much turbulence" in recent times but it is time to "turn the story" about the country into a positive one. Trump reiterated that a joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia is "strategically very important" in relation to US operations in Iran.
Chagos Deal Under Review
Trump told reporters, "I don’t support it. I think it’s terrible. It was a terrible deal," as he sat next to Burnham after talks on Tuesday.
Burnham agreed he would be "looking at" the deal, and he told broadcasters that "we need a resolution" and that Britain would work hard to find it.
The Government’s plans to cede sovereignty of the remote archipelago and then pay billions of pounds to lease back the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia has been on hold since April in the face of opposition from the White House.
Trump pulled his support in April, and it added that Trump told Burnham, "I think the prime minister is going to be looking at [the deal]."
The deal would see Britain hand over the Indian Ocean island chain to Mauritius while retaining control of the joint UK-US military base on Diego Garcia through the £3.4 billion agreement.
AI and Iran Tensions
Burnham met business leaders including Apple's executive chairman Tim Cook and told them he wants a "single set of global principles and standards" that guard against the risks of artificial intelligence. Trump used his address to the UN General Assembly to say the US "totally rejects any attempt to construct a globalist scheme" to control AI, and he said the US will "encourage it, not rein it in." Burnham was expected to push for greater international control over AI and that he revealed to business leaders he wants a "single set of global principles and standards" to guard against rogue AI.
Trump repeated his threat to “annihilate” Iran and said he would “drive them into hell” if they did not back down and sign a peace deal with the US. Burnham referenced his private discussions with Trump included the Falkland Islands, and it added that Trump hinted earlier this month he would not come to the UK's aid in a potential future conflict with Argentina over the British overseas territory.