Biodun Iginla, BBC News

Biodun Iginla, BBC News
Showing posts with label top Republicans. Show all posts
Showing posts with label top Republicans. Show all posts

Monday, January 9, 2017

UK in 'front seat' for US trade deal, top Republican says


  • Jan 10, 2017  00H:45  GMT/UTC/ZULU TIME
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  • From the sectionUK
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson (L) meets with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R) in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 9, 2017Image copyrightREUTERS
Image captionBoris Johnson has been meeting with top Republicans, including Bob Corker

by Suzanne Gould and Biodun Iginla, BBC News, Washington DC
Britain will be in the "front seat" to negotiate a new trade deal with the incoming Trump administration, a top Republican in the US Senate has said.
A US-UK trade deal would be a priority, Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Bob Corker said after meeting Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson.
Barack Obama warned in April that the UK would be at the back of the queue for trade deals if voters chose Brexit.
Mr Johnson has been meeting with top Republicans on Capitol Hill.
"We hear we are first in line to do a great free trade deal with the United States. So, it's going to be a very exciting year for both our countries," he said.
Those meeting with the foreign secretary included House speaker Paul Ryan and Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell. He travelled to Washington after meeting with Mr Trump's senior advisers in New York.
A Foreign Office source told the BBC the talks in Washington saw "seriously positive" discussions on the prospects for a future US-UK trade deal.
Mr Corker said Mr Johnson knows "full well" that "there is no way the United Kingdom is going to take a back seat".
"They will take a front seat and I think it will be our priority to make sure that we deal with them on a trade agreement initially but in all respects in a way that demonstrates the long-term friendship that we've had for so long," he said.
The senator, who had been a leading candidate for secretary of state, said he was sure Mr Trump would agree with him.
Boris Johnson tweets: Image copyrightTWITTER
Image copyrightTWITTER
Mr Johnson will not meet Mr Trump's choice for top diplomat, Rex Tillerson, while in Washington.
Protocol dictates that cannot happen until the businessman is confirmed as secretary of state.
Earlier, in New York, the foreign secretary met with Mr Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who will serve as a senior adviser in the White House, and his chief strategist, Steve Bannon.
Officials said they discussed US foreign policy towards Syria, Russia and China in "positive but frank talks" held hours after Mr Trump tweeted he was "very much" looking forward to meeting Prime Minister Theresa May in the spring.
On Sunday, Mrs May had denounced the president-elect's previous comments about women as "unacceptable".
But she also said the relationship between the two countries is about "something much bigger" than the relationship between the leaders of their governments.

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Sunday, October 9, 2016

US election: More top Republicans drop support for Trump


Media captionWhile some Trump supporters remain loyal, others are changing their vote

by Suzanne Gould and Biodun Iginla, BBC News Analysts, New York
More senior Republicans have withdrawn support for US presidential candidate Donald Trump after his obscene remarks about women became public.
At least a dozen Republicans have said they will not be voting for him, since the comments emerged on Friday.
Mr Trump says he will never drop out of the race to be president and will never let his supporters down.
He has been under pressure after a tape from 2005 of him bragging about groping and kissing women was broadcast.
Condoleezza Rice. File photoImage copyrightGETTY IMAGES
Image captionCondoleezza Rice: "Donald Trump should not be president."
The latest to withdraw their support are former Republican presidential candidate John McCain and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Mr McCain said Mr Trump's comments "make it impossible to continue to offer even conditional support for his candidacy", while Ms Rice said: "Enough! Donald Trump should not be President. He should withdraw."
New Hampshire Senator Kelly Ayotte said in a statement: "I cannot and will not support a candidate for president who brags about degrading and assaulting women," she said
Ms Ayotte - who faces a competitive race for re-election - said she would not vote for Mrs Clinton but instead would "write in" Mike Pence, Mr Trump's vice-presidential running mate, on her ballot paper.
Several other Republicans also said they would vote for Mr Pence.
Media captionA video obtained by the Washington Post shows Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump making lewd remarks about women
Tweet from Donald Trump reading: The media and establishment want me out of the race so badly - I WILL NEVER DROP OUT OF THE RACE, WILL NEVER LET MY SUPPORTERS DOWN! #MAGAImage copyrightTWITTER
Mr Trump himself stressed that there was "zero chance I'll quit", adding that he was getting "unbelievable" support.
And in a tweet, the Republican candidate said "the media and establishment want me out of the race so badly".
Mr Trump's wife Melania issued a statement on Saturday saying: "The words my husband used are unacceptable and offensive to me."
She said her husband had "the heart and mind of a leader".
Mr Pence said he was "offended" by Mr Trump's video, but grateful he had expressed remorse and apologised to the American people.
"We pray for his family," he said in a statement.
House Speaker Paul Ryan had originally invited Mr Trump to attend a campaign event in Wisconsin this weekend but rescinded his invitation, saying he was "sickened" by what he had heard. Mr Pence was due to go in his running mate's place, but declined to attend.
Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton, Mr Trump's Democratic election rival, called his comments in the tape "horrific".

Warning: The rest of this article contains some graphic language

In the recorded comments, which date back to 2005 when Mr Trump was appearing as a guest on a soap, he says "you can do anything" to women "when you're a star" and is heard saying "grab them by the pussy".
The candidate released a video statement apologising for the comments.
Media captionTrump apologises for lewd comments and vows to be a "better man"
Mr Trump's 2005 comments, posted by the Washington Post, overshadowed the release of transcripts of Mrs Clinton's speeches to private events, by the whistle-blowing site Wikileaks.
The candidate had married his third wife Melania a few months before the recording. She said on Saturday: "I hope people will accept his apology, as I have, and focus on the important issues facing our nation and the world."
The second TV debate between Mr Trump and Mrs Clinton will take place on Sunday evening in St Louis.
Mr Trump recently said he would not bring up stories about Bill Clinton's infidelities in the debate, after previously threatening to do so.
But in his video apology, he attacked the former president directly:
"Bill Clinton has actually abused women, and Hillary has bullied, attacked and shamed his victims.
"We'll discuss this in the coming days," he said. "See you at the debate on Sunday."

Is this Trump row different? - Katty Kay, Presenter, BBC World News

Venezuelan-born former Miss Universe Alicia Machado at an event in Burbank, California (1 October 2016)Image copyrightREUTERS
Image captionFormer Miss Universe Alicia Machado has spoken out against Mr Trump
The day after a video emerged in which he suggested he could have any woman he wants because he's a star and so could just grab them by the pussy, Mr Trump is in a whole ocean of hot political water.
Enough, quite possibly, to sink any chance he had of winning the White House.
There is a violence in the phrases "grab 'em by the pussy" and "you can do anything" that any victim of abuse would recognise and that most women would find sickening.
But this tape doesn't just offend women, judging from the reaction in the Republican party. It has offended a lot of men too. Whether those men will now withdraw their endorsements of him is yet to be seen.

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Road to the White House

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