Trump says Queen was late for meeting


DONALD Trump has lashed out at the media as he denied being late to meet the Queen during his visit to the UK.

The Sun reports that the US president was speaking about his trip to Britain last month during a passionate campaign rally in Pennsylvania last night.

He blasted the media as "fake, fake disgusting news" amid reports he had been late for his meeting with Queen Elizabeth II and that he had overstayed his welcome.

Mr Trump told the crowd: "I was asked to have tea with the Queen, who is incredible by the way. Incredible.

"I landed [and] I'm on the ground and I'm waiting with the King's and the Queen's guards - wonderful people. I'm waiting.

"I was about 15 minutes early and I'm waiting with my wife and that's fine.

"Hey, it's the Queen, right? We can wait. But I'm a little early."

"So, I then go up and meet the Queen and she is fantastic. We then go up and we have tea.

"And I didn't know this - it was supposed to last 15 minutes but it lasted like an hour. Because we got along. And she liked our first lady and our first lady liked her.

"But we got along fantastically well. But the time went by - you know, sometimes you get along and the time goes by.

"So here was the story by the fake news: The president was 15 minutes late for the Queen. Wrong.

"And then, here's the rest of the story: The president overstayed. So I was late and I overstayed. But honestly, folks, it was such a beautiful, beautiful visit and afternoon.

"But they can make anything bad because they are the fake, fake, disgusting news."

Donald Trump with Queen Elizabeth II, inspects the Guard of Honour at Windsor Castle in Windsor, England. Picture: AP

Earlier, he said he had "great respect for the UK - the United Kingdom. Great respect."

He then explained: "People call it 'Britain', they call it 'Great Britain'. They used to call it 'England', different parts. But the UK - great respect."

Mr Trump was slammed on Twitter for not knowing the difference between Great Britain, Britain and England.

During the rally, Mr Trump repeatedly denounced the press for underselling his accomplishments and doubting his political rise.

He tore into the media for diminishing what he accomplished at his Singapore summit with North Korea leader Kim Jong-un.

Mr Trump also complained about the tough questioning he received in Helsinki when he met with Russia's Vladimir Putin last month.

The UK press reported that the US national anthem was played on Mr Trump's arrival but that neither he nor his wife bowed or curtsied when they met Her Majesty, even though it is usually customary to do so.

During an exclusive interview with The Sun ahead of the meeting, he praised the Queen as a "tremendous woman".

Mr Trump's Scottish-born mum Mary was an obsessive fan of the Queen, he said.

He added: "My mother loved the Queen. Any time the Queen was on television, my mother wanted to watch it."

This article originally appeared in The Sun and is republished here with permission