U.S. President Donald J. Trump tripled down on claims mass migration caused the Brexit vote, saying the impact on cities like London and Paris is “sad” and praising Hungary for its tough border policies.

President Trump had told The Sun newspaper that mass migration had “changed the fabric of Europe and, unless you act very quickly, it’s never going to be what it was, and I don’t mean that in a positive way” ahead of a NATO summit in Belgium and a working visit to the United Kingdom, doubling and then tripling down on this assertion in Brussels and Chequers.

Despite the President having already told the press “I know it’s not politically correct to say that, but I’ll say and say it loud” at Chequers, establishment journalist and former Celebrity Apprentice contestant Piers Morgan tried to get him to row back on these comments once again in an interview on Air Force One after his “fantastic” meeting with Queen Elizabeth II.

“I said Brexit was going to happen for a specific reason: immigration. I think the people of the UK want to have who they want in their country, and I think what’s happening all over Europe is very sad,” the U.S. leader told Morgan.

The Good Morning Britain host then tried to push the President on his comments about mass migration eroding Europe’s culture: “People were surprised you said that because America of course was built on immigration. The great culture of America is that it’s full of immigrants,” Morgan claimed.

“So why do you not think it can work in Europe?”

“I think it depends where they are [from],’ the President answered forthrightly.

“Who they are, educational levels, work levels, I think it depends on a lot of things. I just see what’s happening, the crime is through the roof in some places that have never had crime.”

Police Officer: Almost All Serious Crime Committed By Migrants https://t.co/QIxLMfeDsI pic.twitter.com/piRx6kIf9y — Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) February 5, 2017

President Trump told Morgan you could “pick the country and… see what’s happening,” adding: “Some of the countries would not take it. And they’re being really admonished by the European Union for not doing it.”

He singled out Hungary, where Viktor Orbán’s pro-sovereignty, anti-mass migration government has resisted EU attempts to impose compulsory migrant quotas on all its member-states consistently, for particular praise.

“You look at Hungary as an example. They’re not agreeing to do what some of the other countries did. Now it’s a very tough thing… yet [mass migration] is changing Europe. It’s seriously changing Europe.

“You take a look at what’s happened in Paris, you take a look at what’s happened in London. You look at what’s going on — it’s changing Europe, and I don’t mean in a positive way,” he reiterated.

More Than 1,000 Europeans Murdered, Maimed in Attacks by Islamist Asylum Seekers Since 2014 https://t.co/qmxP2wDkoX — Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) June 17, 2018

“I’m not the President of Europe, I’m the President of the United States, and we have a strong border, we have a tough border, and we have a different problem, but similar in certain ways,” he added, referring to his own efforts to curb illegal immigration from Mexico and Latin America.

Follow Jack Montgomery on Twitter: @JackBMontgomery