Making nice at the end, President Donald Trump eased up Tuesday on his criticisms of outgoing British PM Theresa May over her handling of the Brexit deal, declaring that history will remember her fondly if the UK can successfully leave the EU.
The latest chapter in the allies' storied "special relationship" played out as anti-Trump protesters - and the infamous Trump baby balloon - thronged the streets of nearby central London.
The US president's unexpected compliments for May come just days before she was set to resign the leadership of her party after failing to secure a Brexit deal. She will depart as prime minister once her successor has been chosen.
"I have greatly enjoyed working with you. You are a tremendous professional and a person who loves her country very much," Trump told May at a news conference near the prime minister's Downing Street office. But he couldn't resist a slight dig, evoking the two years of broadsides he had lobbed at her by recalling that he urged her to sue the European Union rather than try to negotiate a departure.