Michael Sandford, 20, is accused of trying to take the gun during a rally at Treasure Island Casino in Las Vegas on 18 June.
According to court documents, he reportedly told police that he had driven from California to Nevada with the aim of killing Mr Trump.
Sandford, who appeared at a federal court in Las Vegas wearing leg irons and a yellow prison uniform, was asked by magistrate judge Cam Ferenbach if he understood the charges he was facing.
Sandford, from Dorking, Surrey, replied: "Yes, I do."
When asked how he would plead, Sandford answered: "Not guilty."
The charges are disrupting government business and official functions and two charges of being an illegal alien in possession of a gun.
According to court documents, Sandford had visited a shooting range the day before the incident, where he said he learned how to use a gun for the first time.
Sandford, who had been in the US for around 18 months, is alleged to have told a police officer at the rally that he wanted Mr Trump's autograph before trying to take his gun.
He allegedly told police he had expected to die during the shooting attempt but he also claimed to have booked tickets for another rally in Phoenix, Arizona, just in case he failed in Las Vegas.
Sandford's mother Lynne Sandford has called for him to be deported to the UK so that he can get psychiatric help and be able to see his family.
She says she fears her son, who was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome when he was 13, may try to kill himself in jail.
"Jail is no place for him. He needs help, but not prison," she told the BBC.
She added that he had previously tried to kill himself.
(Sky News)
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