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Boris Johnson would make ‘excellent’ British PM: Trump
LONDON, June 1, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – US President Donald Trump has said
British former foreign minister Boris Johnson would make an “excellent” prime
minister to replace Theresa May.
Trump was speaking ahead of the start of a state visit to Britain on
Monday, during which he will meet May.
She is set to resign on June 7 over her failure to deliver a deal to bring
Britain out of the European Union.
Asked by the British tabloid newspaper The Sun for his opinion on the 12
candidates to replace her, Trump said, “I think Boris would do a very good
job. I think he would be excellent.
“I have always liked him. I don’t know that he is going to be chosen, but
I think he is a very good guy, a very talented person.”
He added that several candidates in the Conservative leadership race had
asked for his support, without revealing who.
A key Leave campaigner in the Brexit referendum, Johnson has said he is
prepared to take Britain out of the European Union, “deal or no deal”.
In the interview, Trump also repeated his criticism of how May has handled
Brexit negotiations, saying Britain had allowed the EU to “have all the
cards”.
“It is very hard to play well when one side has all the advantage,” he
said. “I had mentioned to Theresa that you have got to build up your
ammunition.”
May concluded a divorce agreement with the EU in November but her deal was
rejected three times by the British parliament, forcing her to seek a delay
in leaving the bloc, now scheduled for October 31.
– ‘Nasty’ Meghan –
Commenting on Britain’s domestic politics and opining on ruling-party
leadership choices at a sensitive time would normally be an unusual move for
a US president — but not for Trump, a former reality-TV star who often
speaks his mind.
It could however add to tensions during Trump’s three-day visit to
Britain.
Trump is to be received in Buckingham Palace on Monday by Queen Elizabeth
II.
He will then have a discussion with Prince Charles, the heir to the
British throne who is known for speaking out against global warming — an
issue Trump is dismissive of. The president has decided to pull the US out of
the Paris climate change agreement that seeks to curb carbon emissions.
A meeting with Meghan, the former US actress who married Charles’s second
son Prince Harry, is not on the agenda for Trump, whom she criticised during
his 2016 campaign to be America’s leader.
“What can I say? I didn’t know that she was nasty,” Trump said of Meghan,
though he also said he was “sure she will do excellently” as a princess.
As for protests that are expected to dog Trump’s state visit, the
president insisted “I think I am really — I hope — I am really loved in the
UK”.
BSS/AFP/MSY/1327 hrs