Boris Johnson says President-elect Donald Trump was “pretty tough” on Vladimir Putin the last time he was in the Oval Office. But this time his long-time political ally is concerned that freedom and democracy around the world are now at greater risk – the former UK prime minister claimed Trump has advisers who admire the Russian dictator and whisper in his ear.
On stage at the Fortune Global Forum conference on Monday, Johnson warned that the Republican Party has “a strange kind of homoerotic fascination with Putin that I personally don’t share.”
“Some of these people think he’s an all-around stand-up guy and they love his male Christianity,” he said. “This is complete nonsense. He’s a tyrant and a kleptocrat and a murderer and a very, very dangerous and evil man.”
“But there’s no question that some of these people are in the 47th president’s ear and whispering a lot of absolute nonsense to him.”
The British politician accused Prime Minister Viktor Orbán of doing the same. “There are a lot of dangerous, toxic and damaging conversations going on right now,” Johnson added. “I hope and hope and hope that this argument will not succeed, and I hope that the argument for democracy and freedom will succeed – and I base my optimism on what I saw last time.”
Johnson is, of course, referring to Trump’s proposed peace deal. The billionaire boomerang president has repeatedly stated that he would put an end to the more than two and a half year war in Ukraine.within 24 hours” he should be reinstated in the White House.
The Kremlin has denied media reports that Trump had a phone call with Putin in which he is said to have warned the Russian president about an escalation of the war in Ukraine.
Whatever the case, Johnson insisted that “there is a real risk that the deal will go through that is not in the interests of freedom and democracy.”
“I am absolutely convinced that it would be a catastrophe for the world if Ukraine were to collapse,” he added. “Still, I hold on to my memory of Trump when he was in office, where he was actually pretty tough on Putin.”
“So look, I’ll just put it out there. (If) anyone is in contact with the president-elect, this is a unique opportunity to show that the previous government was weak because it did not give Ukrainians the care they needed.”
Assets asked Trump for comment.
Boris Johnson’s new book
Johnson has been promoting his new memoir, Unleashed, what was No. 1 in the UK since its release last month. Last week he was removed from Channel 4’s US election night show He’s promoting his book too much.
The 784-page book looks back on his time as British Prime Minister. He was in office from 2019 to 2022 and worked alongside Donald Trump for three years.
A former magazine editor who became an MP and then mayor of London, he rose to power when former prime minister Theresa May’s term failed and he was elected leader of the Conservative Party on a promise to “get Brexit done.”
Johnson actually pushed through Brexit at the end of 2019. But his victory was short-lived. Shortly thereafter, the COVID-19 pandemic broke out and marked the beginning of its downfall.
In his memoirs, Johnson claimed that at the height of the pandemicHe considered sending troops to the Netherlands to seize 5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines. But the plan was ultimately abandoned because an invasion by a NATO ally would be “crazy.”
Him too accused French President Emmanuel Macron that we turn a blind eye to gangs that smuggle people across the English Channel to punish the United Kingdom for Brexit.
Of course, Johnson himself is no stranger to criticism and controversy. After one too many scandals, including misleading parliament, he was forced to resign from his top post. renovate his house with donor money and against his own lockdown rules during the pandemic.
The shaggy-haired leader was fined by London’s Metropolitan Police for attending a party on government grounds. This made him the first British Prime Minister in history to be found to have broken the law while in office.
In the end he was accused of promoting a deputy sexual misconduct That was the final straw that broke the camel’s back. Dozens of members of his own government resigned in protest, up to cabinet level, forcing Johnson to resign in September 2022.
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