Britain’s foreign secretary Boris Johnson has said he admires President Donald J. Trump’s hard-nosed way of dealing with European Union (EU) bureaucrats, warning of a betrayal of the Brexit vote unless the UK learns from him.
“I am increasingly admiring of Donald Trump. I have become more and more convinced that there is method in his madness,” said Boris Johnson, the former Conservative Mayor of London, in leaked comments made at a private event.
“Imagine Trump doing Brexit,” he said, according to Buzzfeed. “He’d go in bloody hard… 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.”
In light of the president’s success and Britain’s perceived weakness, Mr. Johnson said he wanted a “much more energetic” approach to the UK’s diplomacy, and by extension Brexit.
The foreign secretary also made one of his strongest warnings yet that the UK could be locked to EU rules and regulations after Brexit, and blasted Philip Hammond and the Treasury as Remoaners who are not making the best of Brexit.
The Treasury was “basically the heart of Remain”, he said, adding: “What they don’t want is friction at the borders.
“They don’t want any disruption of the economy. So they’re sacrificing all the medium and long-term gains out of fear of short-term disruption.”
Picking up on one of President Trump’s primary policy concerns, Mr. Johnson appeared to emulate him, warning that China will “try and stiff us”.
“China is a rival. China is a rival, but China is a rival whose growth and whose incredible developing power can be used to our advantage,” he said.
Adding: “The Americans have run the tech world for decades… we’re used to them winning… The Chinese are about to win. They’ve got 5G.
“They’ve found out a way. Everybody’s going to be getting stuff on their gizmos through the Chinese system and not the American system. So watch out for that one.”
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