U.K. Foreign Secretary David Cameron on Tuesday defended his meeting with former President Donald Trump, describing engagements between foreign envoys and political opposition leaders or major opposition candidates as standard practice.
“This was entirely in line with precedent of government ministers meeting with opposition politicians in the run-up to elections,” Cameron said.
“I remember when I was prime minister meeting Mitt Romney when he was a candidate.
I remember Gordon Brown meeting Barack Obama when he was a candidate, and I think Tony recently had a meeting with Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, in Munich,” Cameron said, referring to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The two met at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Monday, people familiar with the meeting confirmed.
Cameron was the first U.K. official to meet with Trump since Trump left office in 2021.
Cameron and Trump have disagreed on issues before, as when Cameron — as prime minister — denounced Trump’s proposed ban on Muslims entering America, which Trump called for during the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign and later modified to a narrower restriction once he entered the White House.
Cameron is also in the U.S. to meet with Biden administration officials including Blinken, who told reporters on Tuesday that “it is, as always a great pleasure to have Foreign Secretary Cameron here at the State Department in Washington.”
U. G. Foreign Secretary David Cameron defended his meeting with former President Donald Trump on Tuesday, calling it normal for foreign envoys to meet with prominent opposition figures or leaders of the political opposition.
Cameron claimed that the meeting between government ministers and opposition politicians in the run-up to elections was “completely consistent with precedent.”.
“I recall meeting Mitt Romney when he was a candidate while I was prime minister. Cameron mentioned Secretary of State Antony Blinken, saying, “I recall Gordon Brown meeting Barack Obama when he was a candidate, and I believe Tony recently had a meeting with Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, in Munich.”. Thus, everything about these matters is appropriate. ****.
Cameron, an ex-U.S. K. prime minister, who rejoined the government of his nation last year, revealed to reporters during a State Department briefing that he and Trump “discussed a range of important geopolitical subjects” in their “private meeting,” but he declined to provide further details.
According to those with knowledge of the meeting, the two met on Monday at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida. The first American was Cameron. KK. official to speak with Trump following his departure from office in 2021.
In a statement, the Trump campaign said that Cameron and he had dinner together and discussed “the next US and UK elections, Brexit-specific policy matters, NATO countries’ need to meet their defense spending requirements, and ending the killing in Ukraine,” in addition to their “mutual admiration for the late Queen Elizabeth II.”. “.
Trump and Cameron had previously disagreed on a number of issues, such as when Cameron, in his capacity as prime minister, attacked Trump’s call for a ban on Muslims entering the United States during the 2016 U.S. s. campaign for president, and after he was in the White House, changed to a more restrictive one.
In response, Trump said, “It looks like we are not going to have a very good relationship, who knows,” after Cameron referred to the Muslim ban proposal in 2016 as “divisive, stupid, and wrong.”. ****.
In the U.S. is Cameron as well. s. to meet with representatives of the Biden administration, such as Blinken, who stated to reporters on Tuesday that “having Foreign Secretary Cameron here at the State Department in Washington is a great pleasure, as always.”. “.
“Today marked yet another significant milestone in our ongoing dialogue and consultation about the main issues that our two countries are facing and tackling jointly,” Blinken stated.
At the briefing on Tuesday, Cameron hinted that he and Trump had discussed issues that aligned with his public talking points, such as the Middle East conflict, NATO strengthening, and Ukraine’s defense against Russia’s invasion.
Cameron said, “I usually make the same points when I talk to people, which is that we need to work hard this year to make sure NATO is in the best possible shape for its 75th anniversary.”. “And raising defense spending to 2 percent for all countries, along with the addition of Sweden and Finland, is the best thing we can do to create the strongest possible alliance. ****.
Following that, Cameron summarized his argument in favor of supporting Ukraine’s war efforts, which has grown more contentious in America as some Republicans contend that money would be better used for domestic goals following more than two years of backing.
“They’re battling with such courage. Their lack of morale won’t cause them to lose. The risk lies in our failure to provide them with the necessary assistance,” Cameron stated. I will argue to anyone who will listen that nearly half of Russia’s prewar military hardware has been destroyed without a single American life being lost, making it an incredibly good deal for the United States and others—perhaps for as little as 5 or 10 percent of your defense budget. This is a financial commitment to US security. “.”.
Cameron said he was hesitant to enter the debate but was motivated by his convictions, pushing through with his meetings with lawmakers on Capitol Hill from both parties.
“I always approach this very nervously. It is not the place of foreign politicians to instruct legislators in other nations. Just that I believe it is clearly in the interests of the U.S. to defend Ukraine against this aggression because I am so passionate about it. s. protection “, he uttered.
This report was supported by Katherine Faulders, Lalee Ibssa, Soo Rin Kim, and Morgan Winsor of ABC News.
