WATCH: Donald Trump heaps praise on Boris Johnson as he says UK in 'turmoil'
2 min read
Donald Trump today heaped praise on Cabinet quitter Boris Johnson as he said the UK was in political “turmoil”.
In a humiliating intervention for Theresa May, the US President said the former Foreign Secretary - who quit the Government with a blast at her Brexit plans - was “a great friend of mine”.
And he said it would be up to the British people whether or not Mrs May remains in power.
Speaking outside the White House, Mr Trump said: "Well that's up to the people. I get along with her very well. I have a very good relationship. That's certainly up to the people, not up to me."
Mr Johnson stormed out of the Cabinet yesterday saying his Brexit dream was “dying” and telling the Prime Minister her Chequers blueprint would leave the UK a “colony” of Europe.
The move, just hours after David Davis quit as Brexit Secretary, plunged the Government further into chaos and sparked fears of a Tory leadership challenge against the Prime Minister.
Asked about the dramatic events today, Mr Trump declared: “Boris Johnson is a friend of mine, he's been very very nice to me, very supportive.
“Maybe we'll speak to him when I get over there. I like Boris Johnson, I've always liked him.”
Ahead of the Nato summit this week, the commander in chief made clear he had clocked the explosion in British politics yesterday and suggested talks with Mrs May could be tougher than with Vladimir Putin.
President Trump said: “So I have NATO, I have the UK which is in, somewhat, turmoil, and I have Putin. Frankly, Putin may be the easiest of them all.”
The incendiary comments come just days before Mr Trump is due to visit the UK for a working visit - during which he will visit the PM’s Chequers country retreat and meet the Queen.
In a sensational two-page resignation letter yesterday, Mr Johnson warned that the soft Brexit blueprint put forward by Mrs May amounted to "sending our vanguard into battle with the white flags fluttering above them".
And he added: “Brexit should be about opportunity and hope. It should be a chance to do things differently, to be more nimble and dynamic, and to maximise the particular advantages of the UK as an open, outward looking global economy.
"That dream is dying, suffocated by needless self-doubt."
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe
