Donald Trump has expressed his gratitude to Boris Johnson after the former UK prime minister criticized Trump’s criminal conviction as “a machine-gun mob-style hit job.”
Trump took to his Truth Social platform on Sunday to commend Johnson, sharing excerpts from an op-ed in which Johnson criticized the “liberal elites” and downplayed Trump’s conviction on 34 felony charges. A Manhattan jury recently found Trump guilty on all counts related to falsifying business records in a conspiracy to influence the 2016 presidential election. Sentencing is scheduled for July 11.
Johnson, who was ousted from office in 2022 after a series of scandals, argued that the American public viewed the case as “a load of stunted-up old nonsense.” Writing in the Daily Mail, he suggested that the liberal elites were merely trying to derail Trump’s campaign due to his enduring popularity and ability to connect with voters.
“The vast mass of American voters could see what I believe was really happening: that the liberal elites were just appalled at Trump’s continuing popularity and his ability to connect with voters — and they were using anything they could find to derail his campaign,” Johnson wrote.
Johnson praised Trump’s tenure, stating that his time in office was more successful than critics acknowledged, both domestically and internationally. He argued that legal maneuvers should not be used to prevent Trump from seeking re-election, emphasizing that the true judgment should come from the electorate.
Trump’s opponents, Johnson suggested, had inadvertently strengthened his chances for the upcoming presidential election. “They have helped to make his victory more likely, not less,” Johnson wrote.
Trump responded on his social media platform, saying, “Thank you to Boris Johnson!” and sharing significant portions of the op-ed.
In contrast, other senior British politicians have refrained from commenting on Trump’s conviction. When asked about working with a convicted felon, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak told the BBC, “You wouldn’t expect me to comment on another country’s domestic politics or judicial processes.” Labour Leader Keir Starmer, who is vying to become prime minister in the July 4 UK general election, stated that his party would collaborate with whoever wins the US presidential election in November.
Trump and Johnson have a long-standing relationship, with Trump once describing Johnson as “Britain Trump” during his presidency. Johnson has met with Trump since both left office, encouraging him to support Ukraine in it’s conflict with Russia. However, Trump has offered a mixed assessment of Johnson’s time in office, remarking in a 2022 interview that his “friend” faced challenges because he “went liberal all of a sudden, he went to the other side.”
