'They Like Me over There': Trump Praises 'Britain Trump' Boris Johnson
President Donald Trump showered incoming British Prime Minister Boris Johnson with praise on Tuesday, referring to him as a “good man” who will “do tremendous things” for the people of the United Kingdom.
Trump was speaking at conservative advocacy group Turning Point USA’s Teen Student Action Summit in Washington when he took a moment to celebrate Johnson’s victory in the election to lead the Conservative Party — and become the United Kingdom’s next prime minister.
He pride in the fact that Johnson is being hailed by some as a sort of British Trump.
“We have a really good man who’s going to be the prime minister of the U.K. now, Boris Johnson,” Trump told the audience. “Good man. He’s tough and he’s smart.”
“They’re saying ‘Britain Trump,'” he continued. “They call him Britain Trump, and people are saying that’s a good thing.
“They like me over there. That’s what they wanted. That’s what they need.”
“They call him Britain Trump.”
President Trump says Boris Johnson is a “good man” and will do “tremendous things” with Nigel Farage. pic.twitter.com/naXRZtQN1x
— Channel 4 News (@Channel4News) July 23, 2019
Johnson was elected to lead the Conservative Party in Parliament, defeating opponent Jeremy Hunt by a margin of 92,153 votes to 46,656, according to BBC.
He is expected to officially assume the role of prime minister Wednesday, taking over for the outgoing Theresa May.
May officially announced her resignation in May after failing to deliver a long-awaited Brexit plan — an attempt to officially pull the U.K. out of the European Union in accordance with a 2016 referendum. The plan hit a series of roadblocks as May attempted to secure a formal exit deal from the EU that would be approved by Parliament.
Johnson has long been a proponent of forcing a British exit from the EU.
According to the BBC, the two-term London mayor and former foreign minister has pledged in recent months that an Oct. 31 departure from the EU is a non-negotiable “do or die.” He is willing to pull Britain out of the body regardless of whether a partnership agreement is reached by that time or not.
It is this unabashed nationalism that has led many to compare Johnson with Trump, and even enabled the president to look beyond previous marks made at his expense by the prime minister-to-be.
According to Reuters, the president had been supporting Johnson for some time on the grounds of their similar anti-globalist stances.
“I like Boris Johnson. I always have,” Trump told reporters Friday. “He’s a different kind of a guy, but they say I’m a different kind of guy, too.
“I think we’ll have a very good relationship.”
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