Yahoo News Donald Trump U-turns on NHS trade deal and talks gun control in Piers Morgan GMB interview
Donald Trump has backtracked on his suggestion that the NHS would be included in any trade talks with the UK after Brexit.
The President had used a joint appearance with Theresa May during his state visit to the UK to say that the NHS would be "on the table" as part of a "phenomenal" potential transatalantic deal.
But following a huge backlash, Trump used his interview with Good Morning Britain (GMB) to say "I don't see it being on the table" as the NHS was "something that I would not consider part of trade”.
He told Piers Morgan: "I don't see it being on the table. Somebody asked me a question today and I say everything is up for negotiation, because everything is.
"But I don't see that as being, that something that I would not consider part of trade. That's not trade."
Trump seemed to make another U-turn - this time on Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who he refused to meet on Tuesday.
Mr Corbyn had himself refused to attend the state banquet with the President, instead choosing to address crowds at the Trump protests in London.
But Trump has now said he would meet with Mr Corbyn in the future, despite the snub.
Asked if he could imagine negotiating a trade deal with a government led by Mr Corbyn, the President told GMB: "It's always possible. Anything is possible."
Read more from Yahoo News UK:
Nigel Farage has 'good meeting' with Donald Trump
Melania saves Trump from royal faux-pas over statue
Trump says Brexit 'can and should happen'
He said he "didn't think it was appropriate" to meet Mr Corbyn "but I would".
"I certainly would have no problem with it," he added.
Morgan, a passionate advocate of gun controls, brought up the issue with Trump, urging him to think about banning silencers, following the recent massacre in Virginia Beach, which saw 12 people killed.
Trump said: “I’d like to think about it. i don't love the idea of it.
“The idea of what's happening is crazy, what's going on with schools, not only in our country.
“In London you have stabbings all over. They said your hospital is a sea of blood.”
Asked what he can do to change the mindset on guns, Trump said: “Just talk about it. The bad guys are not getting rid of their guns.
“The people who obey the laws and get rid of guns are sitting ducks.”
The POTUS discusses gun violence with @piersmorgan. He says unarmed civilians are 'sitting ducks' and don't stand a chance when faced with 'bad guys' with guns.
He adds if people were armed during the Paris attacks 'it would have never happened'.#GMBTrump pic.twitter.com/UI9L56Ifgh— Good Morning Britain (@GMB) June 5, 2019
Referencing the Paris nightclub massacre in 2017, Trump went on: “If there was a gun on the other side it would have never happened.”
When asked about why people need to own semi-automatic rifles, Trump added: “A lot of them use them for entertainment. They go out and shoot at ranges.”
Trump used the interview to defend himself over comments where he appeared to describe Meghan Markle as “nasty”.
When asked to clarify the comments, the President said: “The question was asked of me and I didn't know she said anything bad about me. It sounds like she did and that's OK, join the queue...
“They [journalists] said some of the things she said. I said ‘I didn't know she was nasty’. I wasn't saying she was nasty, I said she was nasty about me.
“But I think she's doing a good job.”
Morgan brought up the issue of Trump banning transgender people from the US military, which the President put down to their use of drugs.
Trump said: They take massive amount of drugs - they have to after an operation. In the military you're not allowed to take drugs. You would have to break rules and regulations to have that.”
When pressed on the issue, Trump added: “The operation is $250,000, the recovery period is long and they have to take large amount of drugs after that and that's the way it is and you can't do that.
“I made that decision because of the drugs.
“You have to have a standard and you have to stick by that standard. Maybe they'd be phenomenal, they probably would be.”
Trump is set to stand for re-election in 2020 and was asked if he was confident of winning a second term - and if there were any Democratic candidates who could cause him problems.
He said:”I’m running on the greatest economy we've ever had. We're the bank that everyone wants to steal from.
“I have the cards on Mexico, cleaning up their country and the millions of people rushing to our border.
“There is no Winston Churchill in the Democrats. There is nobody I see that should be able to win.”
Trump's eventful visit to the UK will continue today, when is expected to meet Tory leadership hopefuls Michael Gove and Jeremy Hunt before he flies to Ireland.
During his visit, he will hold a bilateral meeting with Irish premier Leo Varadkar at Shannon Airport.
It is understood the two leaders will discuss the EU and Brexit, as well as international issues.
Opponents of the President predict that thousands of people will take part in protests across Ireland to coincide with Mr Trump's visit.
The protests have prompted a massive security operation across parts of the country.
The Donald Trump "baby blimp" is expected to fly over the skies of Dublin at the largest of the demonstrations.
The Stop Trump Ireland coalition will stage a national protest in Dublin on Thursday at the Garden of Remembrance.
A Shannonwatch peace camp will be erected at Shannon Airport for the duration of his stay.
Mr Trump had been due to visit Ireland last November, but the trip was postponed for operational reasons.
He will also attend events in France on Thursday to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
