British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is intrigued by Trump's limited vocabulary and the simplicity of his messaging, the former British ambassador to the US said
- Sir Kim Darroch, the former British ambassador to the US, interviewed in The Times magazine this weekend, detailed the events surrounding his resignation in 2018.
- Darroch resigned after the leak of classified diplomatic cables in which he described President Trump as "inept."
- In the interview, Darroch said that Johnson seemed "fascinated" by Trump, and "intrigued" by the president's use of language.
Boris Johnson is "fascinated" by Donald Trump and "intrigued" by his use of language, according to the former British ambassador to the US.
Sir Kim Darroch resigned from his ambassadorship in 2018, after the embarrassing leak of diplomatic cables in which he described the American president as "inept" and "deeply dysfunctional."
In an interview with The Times on Saturday, Darroch detailed the events that led to his resignation and described how he had seen Trump and Johnson get on during the latter's trips to Washington, DC.
Trump viewed Johnson as a "kindred spirit," while Johnson was "fascinated" by Trump's political techniques, Darroch said.
Johnson was "intrigued by Trump's limited vocabulary, the simplicity of the messaging, the disdain for political correctness, the sometimes incendiary imagery, and the at best intermittent relationship with facts and the truth," Darroch said.
Trump and Johnson have often been compared to each other, and Darroch said say he saw similarities in the two leaders, using the words "charm," "charisma," and "stardust" to describe them.
When asked if Johnson had modeled himself in some way after his American counterpart, Darroch said: "If you go back through the current prime minister's history, he's often said quite striking things. And he never apologizes. So, Boris might have done this anyway, but certainly, having watched Trump in action, he wouldn't have been put off."
Darroch also blamed Johnson in part for his resignation after the leak, saying that Johnson's refusal to defend him at a debate while he was vying for prime minister led to Darroch's decision to step down.
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