Boris Johnson has defeated Jeremy Hunt for the leadership of Britain's Conservative Party. As such, the new Tory leader will move into 10 Downing Street tomorrow and become the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
This development, while not entirely unexpected, is being greeted with gloom and doom given his forceful advocacy of Brexit. Many media outlets are likening Johnson to President Trump with British Trump currently trending on Twitter. Some arecalling him even more dangerous than Trump. It certainly isn't reassuring that Trump tweeted that Johnson will be great and I'm sure its an endorsement Johnson would just as soon do without. After all, Johnson condemned Trump last week for telling "The Squad" they should go back from where they came.
It also must be remembered that when Trump was promoting his Muslim ban policy in 2015 he claimed there were no-go zones in London. Johnson, then Mayor of London, tersely replied, “I would invite him to come and see the whole of London and take him round the city except that I wouldn’t want to expose Londoners to any unnecessary risk of meeting Donald Trump.”
So I'm not sure where people get the idea Trump and Johnson are and will be bosom buddies. But such a perception is certainly contributing to the low expectations many Britons have of his impending tenure. But I believe this works to Johnson's advantage. The bar has been set so low that all Johnson need do is not come away with egg on his face in dealing with the EU and deliver a Brexit that doesn't result in the collapse of the British economy. If he can do that then Johnson will be considered one of the best Prime Ministers in British history.
One can certainly be skeptical of Johnson. But right now he is the only thing that is standing between Jeremy Corbyn and 10 Downing Street.
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