Donald Trump has issued a stark warning to the EU that he is unhappy with the bloc’s trading relationship with the US, according to Piers Morgan.
The Good Morning Britain host was speaking after a wide-ranging interview with the US president, in which Mr Trump claimed he would negotiate Brexit with a “tougher” attitude than the Prime Minister.
In the interview, Mr Trump said he believed the EU had “very, very unfair” to the US and it would be to the group’s “detriment”.
Morgan told The Andrew Marr Show: “Does anyone on the planet really doubt that Donald Trump would negotiate this harder than Theresa May and her Government?
“I think he’s looked at it and said ‘what exactly is Britain negotiating here? Are you actually leaving? Are you trying to pretend you’re not leaving?’
“He doesn’t understand the subtleties.
“He was very scathing about the EU – he said his own dealing with the EU had been pretty problematic and he actually gave a stark warning that he is coming after them on trade.
“I would not be surprised – the biggest trading partner of America in the world is the EU, 650 odd billion dollars a year.
“He was making it very clear he’s not happy with that trade arrangement.”
In extracts of the interview in the Mail on Sunday, Mr Trump said: “I’m representing the United States, it’s a very unfair situation.
“We cannot get our product in. It’s very very tough. And yet they send their product to use – no taxes, very little taxes. It’s very unfair.
“I’ve had a lot of problems with the European Union, and it may morph into something very big from that standpoint, from a trade standpoint.”
Morgan said Mr Trump had been on a “charm offensive” toward Britain at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week, where the president’s arrival was “like Mick Jagger had arrived”.
“I think he’s a massive force now on the world stage,” the former Daily Mirror editor added.
Morgan’s interview will air on ITV on Sunday at 10pm.