Richard Branson attacks Trump over trade and Ukraine

The US president is ‘in danger of doing so much damage’ to the world with his erratic policies, warns Virgin boss Richard Branson.

Richard Branson and Donald Trump

Sir Richard Branson has launched a withering attack on Donald Trump, saying “he’s in danger of doing so much damage in this world. It’s just sad, incredibly sad.”

Many US and UK business leaders have avoided directly criticising the US president for fear that their companies will become a target for the new administration.

But speaking before boarding a Virgin Atlantic flight from London to Riyadh on Tuesday night, Branson condemned the US decision to “jump side” on Ukraine.

It had put America on the wrong side of history and “should worry the world the most”, he said.

He said Trump’s decision to levy trade tariffs, sparking a global trade war, “have financially done a lot of harm. The world was on the verge of a complete meltdown two weeks ago.”

Trump’s “erratic” policymaking had shattered business confidence, he added.

A few days after announcing new tariffs of more than 100 per cent on imports from some countries, Trump “was backtracking,” Branson recalled, with the imposition of some of the tariffs suspended for 90 days.

“Then he tried again a couple of days ago and then backed off again and started blaming somebody else.

“The unpredictability is just awful for everybody around the world. It’s just erratic, unpredictable, which is very, very difficult for business to deal with. An unsettled world is not good for anybody. People delay decisions on investment and spending.”

On Ukraine, Branson questioned whether Trump would “abide by the treaty America signed in 1994 and continue to support Ukraine. If not, the whole of Europe has got to get onto a war footing. We’ve got to ramp up weapons supplies, like we haven’t done since the Second World War.”

Sir Richard Branson has launched a withering attack on Donald Trump, saying “he’s in danger of doing so much damage in this world.” Picture: Brendan Beckett

Branson blamed “a fairly small elite of people around Trump” for the trade war and Washington’s U-turn on Ukraine.

Most Americans did not support the president’s moves, he said.

“I don’t think he’s carrying the vast majority of Americans in what he’s doing. Most American people are decent individuals. Many Americans I know are just very sad.”

Despite Trump’s actions, he predicted companies and governments would “manage as we always do. We’ll muddle through, but it’s just such a pity because the world was going so bloody well up until about three months ago. If we take Virgin, our cruise ships were booming, our airlines were booming, health clubs were full.”

Since the trade war erupted there has been “a bit of softness in the US” in demand for Virgin Atlantic flights from the US to Europe as US inflation has risen and consumer confidence has dipped.

But the recent rapid rise in the strength of the pound against the dollar has boosted bookings from the UK to the US.

There is no sign that anti-American sentiment is hitting bookings from Britain to America.Meanwhile, Canadians, angered by Trump’s tariffs and his claim that Canada was “the 51st state” of America, are taking advantage of Virgin’s new route from Toronto to London.

Virgin Voyages Resilient Lady docked in Sydney in 2023. Picture: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images

“Canadians are flooding to the UK and not going to America,” Branson said.

He will discuss Trump’s actions at a private meeting with the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, in Riyadh on Thursday.

It is likely to be an awkward encounter. Branson publicly pulled out of investing in the country following the grisly murder in 2018 of the journalist Jamal Khashoggi in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

He is now launching flights to the kingdom because “I think the Saudis have changed dramatically in the last six or seven years. They have made a lot of changes. It’s by no means perfect, but it’s definitely moved dramatically in the right direction.”

Women could now work freely, travel without a male guardian and drive. The arts, previously banned, were flourishing.

Branson believes the crown prince will make bigger reforms to modernise the country’s economy and society. “He can push. We’ll keep pushing. Step by step, Saudi Arabia will go closer to Dubai. By trading with countries and interacting, we’re more likely to see change than if we didn’t. This is a good time for engagement.”

The Times