Donald Trump

AP Fact Check: Trump Spins Tale on London Protests, Brexit

Trump didn't predict Brexit the day before it happened

President Donald Trump is spinning a tall tale about crowd sizes and the protests in London.

In a news conference Tuesday with British Prime Minister Theresa May, he asserted there have been few protests over his visit to the United Kingdom, insisting instead there was an outpouring of "great love" for him from thousands of people. That's not the case. He also once again falsely says that he predicted Brexit a day before it happened.

A look at the claims:

TRUMP: "There were thousands of people (Monday) on the streets cheering. And even coming over today, there were thousands of people cheering and then I heard that there were protests. I said, 'Where are the protests? I don't see any protests.' I did see a small protest today when I came, very small, so a lot of it is fake news, I hate to say... There was great love. ...And I didn't see the protesters until just a little while ago and it was a very, very small group of people."

THE FACTS: The protests over Trump's visit were more than just "very, very small."

Thousands of protesters crowded London's government district, shouting angry chants as he met May nearby. While police erected barricades to stop protesters from marching past the gates of Downing Street, they could be heard as Trump and May emerged from the prime minister's official residence for a photo-op and before their news conference.

The demonstrators expressed outrage over his lavish welcome and protested him as a danger to the world. They had a giant Trump baby balloon and a robotic likeness of Trump sitting on a golden toilet, cellphone in hand, dubbed Dump Trump. The robot made flatulent sounds and recited familiar Trump phrases including "No collusion" and "You are fake news."

On Monday, some people gathered outside Buckingham Palace, a major tourist attraction, as he met Queen Elizabeth II and members of the royal family. There was no evidence of loud cheering, let alone an outpouring of "great love" from "thousands" of people.

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TRUMP, referring to how he stood at his Scottish golf resort, Turnberry, on the eve of the Brexit referendum and predicted that the British would vote to leave the European Union: "I really predicted what was going to happen. Some of you remember that prediction. It was a strong prediction, made at a certain location, on a development we were opening the day before it happened."

THE FACTS: He didn't predict Brexit the day before it happened.

As when he has told this story before, Trump is mixing up his predictions and his days. Three months before the vote, he did predict accurately that Britain would vote to leave the EU. The day after the 2016 vote — not the day before — he predicted from his Scottish resort that the EU would collapse because of Britain's withdrawal. That remains to be seen. 

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