Boris Johnson has defended Donald Trump as a “liberal”, despite the outcry over the president-elect’s appointments to his White House team as well as his conduct during the election.
Trump has named Steve Bannon, the Breitbart News Network executive chairman accused of having white nationalist views, as chief strategist and senior counselor.
Vice president-elect Mike Pence, who was picked by Trump to join the Republican ticket, has said gay marriage would lead to “societal collapse” and called homosexuality “a choice”.
During the presidential campaign, Trump infamously proposed banning all Muslims from the United States and questioned the impartiality of a judge based on his ethnicity.
The Republican also encouraged violence against protestors, claimed the election was rigged and suggested he would not accept the result if he lost.
However Johnson told the Czech Hospodářské noviny newspaper, translated by Politico, today there was “every reason to be positive” about Trump’s presidency. The foreign secretary said:
“Donald Trump is dealmaker, he is a guy who believes firmly in values that I believe in too — freedom and democracy. As far as I understand he is in many aspects a liberal guy from New York.”
Yesterday, Johnson said Trump’s election was a “moment of opportunity”. Arriving for a meeting with European colleagues in Brussels, he said: “It’s very important not to pre-judge the president-elect or his administration.
“It’s only a few days since the election has taken place. I think we all need to wait and see what they come up with. But I think we should regard it as a moment for opportunity. Donald Trump is a deal-maker and I think that could be a good thing for Britain but it could also be a good thing for Europe.”