Theresa May insists Donald Trump was “being a gentleman” when he held her hand during her US visit shortly after he became 45th president.
In an interview with the style magazine American Vogue, she says: “We were about to walk down a ramp, and he said it might be a bit awkward.”
Asked what she made of Mr Trump, she adds: “I like to think we got on.”
Mrs May also admits that at home she cooks and her husband Philip, a banker, loads the dishwasher.
In the wide-ranging article, the prime minister appears in a series of photographs by Annie Leibovitz and answers questions on a variety of issues, including the constant comparison between her and the only other British female PM, Margaret Thatcher.
“There can only ever be one Margaret Thatcher,” she says. “I’m Theresa May. I do things my way.”
Asked what she made of Donald Trump during their first meeting in Washington DC visit in January, Mrs May said: “I like to think we got on.
“I mean, obviously he has, uh… it was a stunning election victory, in that he’s someone who has not been involved in politics.”
Pressed on whether she confronted the president about his comments about women, which she had previously described as “unacceptable”, she replied: “Well, I don’t… We don’t comment on private conversations that take place.
“All I would say is, I’ve been very clear: I’m not afraid to raise issues and the nature of the relationship is such that we should be able to be frank and open with each other.”
In the interview, journalist Gaby Wood asks Mrs May, an only child, about her marriage to Philip, which took place shortly before both her parents died.
“I’ve been fortunate that he’s been very supportive of me,” she said. They have known each other so long “there’s something, which is the bond between you, that develops over time.”
On not having a family of her own, she comments: “Look, it’s one of those things. We didn’t have children. You just get on with life.”
She says at home she enjoys cooking, but has been amazed to discover her husband is a dab hand at mushroom risotto. “We have a very good system,” she says. “I cook, and he puts everything in the dishwasher.”
Trouser-gate
Asked what the couple argue about, she remarks: “Do you know, I think we argue about the same things that most people argue about – like, who has the remote? And what we’re watching tonight. His history programme? No – [the American TV drama] NCIS.”
Mrs May says “it’s a great honour” to be prime minister, and answers brusquely about whether she feels the need to be liked. “It’s not a popularity stakes, being prime minister. I think what’s important is for people to feel that I’m delivering for them.”
She admits she did vote to remain in the EU referendum, but insists “what’s important is that the country feels, I think, that it wants to come together”.
Asked if she was surprised about the media storm surrounding her decision to wear a pair of leather trousers worth almost £1,000 in an interview with a Sunday newspaper magazine, she said: “Look, throughout my political career, people have commented on what I wear – that’s just something that happens and you accept that.
“But it doesn’t stop me from going out and enjoying fashion – and I also think it’s important to be able to show that a woman can do a job like this and still be interested in clothes.”
