David Lammy insisted his controversial comments about Donald Trump are “old news” – but later issued a warning over trade tariffs.
The Foreign Secretary dodged fears his opinions, aired publicly in 2018, on the President-elect could harm UK/US relations.
Mr Lammy called Mr Trump a “woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath” who is “a profound threat to the international order”.
But the Labour Cabinet minister insisted the comments did not come up during a dinner in September, adding that politicians say different things when they are on the backbenches compared to serving in the Government.
He told BBC’s Newscast: “This is old news. In that period, particularly with people on Twitter, lots of things were said about Donald Trump.
“I found him to be a very gracious host.
“He did offer me a second portion of chicken. He was very generous, very gracious, very keen to make sure that we felt relaxed and comfortable in his surroundings.
“He was funny. He was warm about the UK. Very warm about the Royal Family. I’ve got to tell you, loves Scotland.”
Challenged over the comments, again, Mr Lammy told the BBC: “He didn’t seem to think it mattered a few weeks ago.
“The truth is, when you’re doing this job, you understand the extent and breadth of the US UK relationship.
“There are 11,000 troops, US troops in this country.
“There are tens of thousands of U.S. troops across Europe.
“We have the closest of intelligence capabilities, the best in the world on demonstration before the Ukraine war and working effectively to keep the skies safe over Israel just a few weeks ago.
“So anyone who heads up America or indeed our country understands that.
“He understands that, because he’s done the job of being President before. And in the end, he’s finding common ground, just as I’m finding common ground. You don’t get to be a senior politician in our country unless you can find common ground.”
In an article in Time magazine in 2018, Mr Lammy wrote: “Trump is not only a woman-hating, neo-Nazi-sympathising sociopath.
“He is also a profound threat to the international order that has been the foundation of Western progress for so long.
“It is because I cherish and champion those values that this Friday, I will march with London against Donald Trump.”
Health Secretary Wes Streeting previously called the president-elect an “odious, sad little man” and Environment Secretary Ed Miliband called him a “racist, misogynistic self-confessed groper”.
But Mr Lammy insisted: “Look, I think that what you say as a backbencher and what you do wearing the real duty of public office are two different things. And I am Foreign Secretary. There are things I know now that I didn’t know back then, and that’s the truth of it.”
But Mr Lammy has already signalled he is willing to stand up to Washington over tariffs.
The President-elect wants to increase tariffs on goods imported from around the world by at least 10 per cent, rising to 60 per cent on goods from China.
And Mr Lammy said he will challenge the US over the move.
He said: “Well, you probably know that when the Biden administration pursued their Inflation Reduction Act and indeed their Chips Act and the UK and other partners were cut out of that or were not engaged in that, there was some criticism both publicly and privately about that.
“So of course, we would seek with a new administration, to ensure that as a major ally we were aligned and we were considered. That’s in Britain’s national interest.
“Of course we do that.
“I believe that they would understand this – that hurting your closest allies cannot be in your medium or long-term interests, whatever the pursuit of public policy in relation to some of the problems posed by China.”