Trump changes his mind on Nato

As President Trump welcomes his first foreign visitor to the White House, the US-UK 'special relationship' looks to be back on.

US president Donald Trump and British prime minister Theresa May take questions at a press conference at the White House on January 27, 2017. Shawn Thew / EPA

New York // Donald Trump gave his full backing to Nato on Friday during talks with the British prime minister Theresa May, his first meeting with a foreign leader since taking office.
The two leaders appeared relaxed during a White House news conference and both said that they looked forward to working closely together in future.
Mrs May has put building a strong personal relationship and reaching a trade deal with Mr Trump at the heart of her strategy to ensure the UK remains a global player despite is intention to withdraw from the European Union.
Western leaders have been concerned by Mr Trump's campaign rhetoric, in which he described Nato as obsolete and suggested the US would take a more isolationist stance in future.
Mrs May used the opportunity to show how she plans to wield influence as part of the UK's often touted "special relationship" with the US.
"We are united in our recognition of Nato as the bulwark of our collective defence. Today we reaffirmed our unshakeable commitment to this alliance," she said, adding that Mr Trump said he was "100 per cent" behind it.
Mrs May faced criticism at home by racing to be the first world leader granted a White House meeting with a new president who has already declared his support for torture and signalled his plans to halt the admission of refugees.
When challenged to defend those positions by a reporter, Mr Trump turned to Mrs May and joked: "This was your choice of a question. There goes that relationship."
For her part, Mrs May said disagreement was all part of a dialogue.
"There will be times when we disagree and issues on which we disagree," she said. "The point of the special relationship is that we are able to have that open and frank discussion so we are able to make that clear when it happens."
Her assured performance will be analysed by foreign leaders and their officials wondering how best to deal with Mr Trump's unconventional style and quixotic public appearances.
Mr Trump assured the audience that the pair - one the daughter of a Church of England vicar and the other a larger than life TV star - had got along well in private.
"I'm not as brash as you might think," he said.
Mrs May also said the two countries had talked about how best to fight ISIL, and stressed the UK's commitment to sanctions against Russia for its annexation of Crimea, another potential point of disagreement.
Mr Trump said, "As far as the sanctions, it's very early to be talking about that. We look to have a great relationship with all countries, ideally."
The meeting was overshadowed by an continuing row between Mr Trump and Mexico.
Enrique Pena Nieto, the country's president who would usually expect the honour of one of the first meetings, has cancelled a visit scheduled for next week over Mr Trump's plan to build a wall between their two countries. When asked for her views on the row, Mrs May replied, "Any issue between the US and Mexico is a matter for the US and Mexico," while Mr Trump interjected, "I think she has other things on her mind." .
American officials believe Mrs May, who came to power in the wake of her Conservative party's disarray over the UK's Brexit vote, is uniquely placed to understand Mr Trump's populist platform.
Kellyanne Conway, counsellor to the president, said: "People sent a very clear and convincing message in the US and the UK that they wanted to go outside of the establishment."
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