‘We’re working great together’ – Trump thanks the man who previously said he ‘was unfit to hold office’

US president Donald Trump has publicly thanked Boris Johnson for his support. The move came as the American leader tweeted a reference to a newspaper article saying the prime minister had praised Trump while he was foreign secretary in 2017.

In 2016 – before Trump became president – Johnson had markedly less positive things to say about him.

Working together

The Telegraph piece said Johnson had told US diplomats that Trump was living up to his campaign slogan to “make America great again”.

Trump responded by tweeting:

Thank you Boris, working great together!

Both Johnson and Trump have received extensive criticism for their handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Johnson actually received it from Trump himself who said the UK’s response would have proven “catastrophic” for the US.

Unfit

The Telegraph article quoted Johnson as telling the US ambassador to the UK that Trump was doing “fantastic stuff” on foreign affairs as president.

It reported that the then-foreign secretary’s praise of Trump was revealed in leaked notes of the meeting. Johnson told US officials that Trump was becoming “increasingly popular” in Britain, according to the report.

These comments from Johnson contrast starkly with those he made in 2016 when Johnson described yet-to-be president Trump as “clearly out of his mind” and “unfit to hold the office of president of the United States”.