Donald Trump is 'an embarrassment for the world', says Sir Richard Branson

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday

Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy notice

Donald Trump is “an embarrassment for the world”, Sir Richard Branson has said.

The billionaire businessman said the president's first two months in office had been “disastrous” and he predicted the US leader will only last a maximum of one term in office.

"I've found it rather an embarrassment for the world to have an individual running America who does not speak the truth all the time, who tries to, instead of opening borders to immigrants, has made it really difficult to get in to America, and the list goes on and on and on," Branson told New Zealand radio station, NewsHub, during a visit to the country.

"There are a lot of great business leaders like [Michael] Bloomberg who would have been great presidents of America. I think Trump is the one businessperson I know who is certainly not the right person to be running a great country like America.

“The first days in office have been so disastrous that I think the chances of it lasting more than one term are extremely unlikely and I think that's the only saving grace about the way he's behaving at the moment."

Before his election win, Branson had warned of the potential dangers of Mr Trump’s presidency.

He called the former Apprentice star “vindictive” after describing an encounter with him.

“Even before the starters arrived he began telling me about how he had asked a number of people for help after his latest bankruptcy and how five of them were unwilling to help,” Branson wrote in a blog post. “He told me he was going to spend the rest of his life destroying these five people.

“He didn’t speak about anything else and I found it very bizarre…. I left the lunch feeling disturbed and saddened by what I’d heard.

“What concerns me most, based upon my personal experiences with Donald Trump, is his vindictive streak, which could be so dangerous if he got into the White House. For somebody who is running to be the leader of the free world to be so wrapped up in himself, rather than concerned with global issues, is very worrying.

Branson also hosted Barack Obama on Necker Island, his private Caribbean retreat, days after the Democrat finished his term of office.

The businessman posted pictures of himself kite-surfing with a relaxed-looking Mr Obama as the former president took a holiday with his wife, Michelle.