Trump hails Boris Johnson as future PM and attacks Sadiq Khan | US news
Dan Sabbagh
Donald Trump hailed Boris Johnson
as a future prime minister, accused the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, of
doing “a bad job” on terrorism and said there had been too much
immigration in Europe in an incendiary interview that raised questions
about the decision to invite him to Britain.
A day before the US president was due to have bilateral talks with
Theresa May, Trump used an interview with the Rupert Murdoch-owned Sun
to endorse her principal Tory rival just days after he resigned from the cabinet in protest at her Brexit policy.
Trump described Johnson as “a very talented guy” for whom he had “a
lot of respect”. He claimed he was not trying to pit Johnson against his
host, but added: “I am just saying I think he would be a great prime
minister. I think he’s got what it takes.”
The president – who has said he would like to see Johnson during his UK trip
– added that Johnson “obviously likes me, and says very good things
about me. I was very saddened to see he was leaving government and I
hope he goes back in at some point. I think he is a great representative
for your country.”
Last month, a leaked recording
of Johnson revealed that the former foreign secretary was “increasingly
admiring of Donald Trump”. The Conservative MP said that Trump would
negotiate Brexit “bloody hard”, adding: “There’d be all sorts of
breakdowns, all sorts of chaos. Everyone would think he’d gone mad. But
actually you might get somewhere. It’s a very, very good thought.”
Trump is due to have a summit meeting with May on Friday at lunchtime
before meeting the Queen for tea at Windsor Castle and then heading to
Scotland. Protests have been organised to follow him everywhere around
the UK, with a demonstration planned for Friday afternoon in London where organisers expect tens of thousands to attend.
The president renewed his feud with Khan with a series of heavyhanded
comments aimed at Johnson’s successor as London mayor, trying to blame
him for the spate of fatal terror attacks in the capital last year at
Westminster, London Bridge and outside Finsbury Park mosque.
“Take a look at the terrorism that is taking place. Look at what is
going on in London,” Trump said, before referring directly to Khan: “I
think he has done a very bad job on terrorism. I think he has done a bad
job on crime, if you look, all of the horrible things going on there,
with all of the crime that is being brought in.”
Trump even appeared to hold Khan personally responsible for
immigration in Europe, in comments that were particularly inflammatory.
“I think allowing millions and millions of people to come into Europe is
very, very sad. I look at cities in Europe, and I can be specific if
you’d like. You have a mayor who has done a terrible job in London. He
has done a terrible job.”
The US president has repeatedly clashed with the London mayor, tweeting last June after the London Bridge attack
that Khan was wrong to call for calm. “At least 7 dead and 48 wounded
in terror attack and Mayor of London says there is ‘no reason to be
alarmed!’,” Trump said that the time – prompting Khan to call the
American leader “ill informed”.
The president returned to the theme of immigration elsewhere in the
interview, making further controversial claims: “Allowing the
immigration to take place in Europe is a shame. I think it 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.”
Trump also complained that Khan had given permission for a six-metre-high “Trump baby” blimp
to fly over Westminster on Friday. He said he was pleased to be
spending little time in the capital on his three-day trip as a result:
“I used to love London as a city. I haven’t been there in a long time.
But when they make you feel unwelcome, why would I stay there?”
Media owned by Murdoch have repeatedly secured interviews with Trump.
In addition to regular appearances on his Fox TV network, Michael Gove,
in his brief period as a backbencher, interviewed the US president for
the Times in January 2017 while the media mogul was in the room.
In his chronicle of the Trump White House, Fire and Fury, Michael
Wolff said that Murdoch is a confidante of Trump, one of a circle of
billionaires whom the US president calls to discuss politics and current
affairs.
Posts
