“I think that he is a danger and I think that he is a racist” – @EmilyThornberry on @realDonaldTrump #marr pic.twitter.com/46oqxZTPTb
— The Andrew Marr Show (@MarrShow) January 14, 2018
A British Labour politician unloaded on President Trump in a TV interview Sunday, calling the president an “asteroid of awfulness” and a “racist” after Trump allegedly referred to some nations as “shithole countries.”
In an interview with the BBC, Labour MP Emily Thornberry dismissed critics who suggested that criticizing the president could be unhelpful for securing a trade deal with the United States following the U.K.’s exit from the European Union.
{mosads}
“He is an asteroid of awfulness that has fallen on this world. I think that he is a danger, and I think that he is a racist,” Thornberry told the BBC.
“American democracy has a number of checks and balances, and I think there are a number of people who are important to speak to [other than Trump],” she added.
Thornberry went on to call it “embarrassing” for British Prime Minister Theresa May to have extended an invitation to the U.K. to Trump, but declined to go as far as to say it should be rescinded.
The president faced international criticism this week after he reportedly referred to Haiti, El Salvador and some African nations as “shithole countries” in a bipartisan discussion with lawmakers.
The remark sparked condemnation across the world, including from all 55 African nations.
Thornberry’s comments come just days after Trump appeared to cancel his trip to the United Kingdom completely over his dissatisfaction about the new U.S. Embassy location in London.
Trump wrote on Twitter that he canceled his trip because he is “not a big fan of the Obama Administration having sold perhaps the best located and finest embassy in London for ‘peanuts,’ only to build a new one in an off location for 1.2 billion dollars.”
“Bad deal. Wanted me to cut ribbon-NO!” Trump wrote.
Multiple British media outlets reported last week that Trump had cancelled his visit to the U.K., saying that he had “backed off” his decision to visit the country.
In November, May’s office said it would not rescind Trump’s invitation to visit despite Trump retweeting videos from Britain First, a far-right ultranationalist group.