BRITAIN/FOREIGN DIGNITARIES/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “It looked for all the world like a boardroom scene from ‘The Apprentice,’ with President Trump appraising the candidates to succeed Prime Minister Theresa May, even as she stood by his side at a news conference on Tuesday [6-4-19]…And then, as if slipping off-camera to interview the contenders, Mr. Trump sought a series of meetings with some of those same lawmakers, holding out his endorsement for whoever would remake the Conservative Party in his blustering, bare-knuckled image. Mr. Trump, unloved in Britain even before he toyed with intruding on its public health system, would seem to make an unlikely kingmaker in the race to become Britain’s next prime minister. But some top contenders have nevertheless rushed this week to woo the president and embrace his brand of bellicose politics, swatting aside the inflatable Trump baby balloon and the thousands of angry placards that greeted his state visit. They cheered his insults of London’s mayor, snatched precious one-on-one meeting time and battled to claim the mantle of Mr. Trump’s pugilistic stance in trade negotiations.”
–Benjamin Mueller, “President Trump, Unloved in Britain, Still Tries to Play Kingmaker,” The New York Times online, June 5, 2019