Trump claims he would have been 'tougher' on Brexit than May

US President Donald Trump has said he would take a "tougher" approach to Brexit negotiations than Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May, he said in a television interview to be broadcast on Sunday.

In the interview with British channel ITV to be aired on Sunday, Trump said the European Union was "not cracked up to what it's supposed to be" and claimed he had predicted the result of the June 2016 referendum in which Britons voted to leave the EU. Trump was elected to the US presidency later the same year.

When asked if May was in a "good position" regarding the ongoing Brexit talks, Trump replied: 

Would it be the way I negotiate? No, I wouldn't negotiate it the way it's negotiated ... I would have had a different attitude.

Pressed on how his approach would be different, he said: 

I would have said the European Union is not cracked up to what it's supposed to be. I would have taken a tougher stand in getting out.

May was the first foreign leader to visit Trump after his inauguration in January last year and they were filmed emerging from the White House holding hands.