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Boris Johnson Meets 'Sadistic Nurse' Hillary Clinton Amid Questions Over Mayor's 'Promotional Tour'

Boris Hits New York To Promote Himself... Sorry, London
Ned Simons & Paul Vale
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Hillary Clinton lampooned Boris Johnson's political zeal during a meeting in New York on Wednesday, the former Secretary of State quipping that the London Mayor was in the US to announce a run for President.

Johnson, who is currently on a six-day tour of America to promote the City of London, was reminded on Tuesday that he once compared the former first lady to a "sadistic nurse".

The Press Association's Sam Lister, who has been tracking Boris across America, captured this clip of the brush-by. "I know it's your birthplace, so welcome back," Clinton said. "You're a duel."

Boris was born in New York, so is eligible to run for president. The Evening Standard's Pippa Crerar reports the former secretary of state joked as she arrived: "Is he announcing for President? Which one do you think he'll be, Democrat or Republican?"

Boris, who hopes to return to parliament as an MP in May, is seen as a likely successor to David Cameron as Tory leader while Clinton is expected to launch a run for the White House with a 2016 presidential bid.

The meeting could have been awkward, given the London mayor once said of Clinton: "She's got dyed blonde hair and pouty lips, and a steely blue stare, like a sadistic nurse in a mental hospital."

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Asked about the comment by ITV News, Boris said: "I'm sure that whatever I've said in the past will be taken by the Senator who is a very distinguished politician in the light hearted spirit in which it was intended."

In London, the Mayor’s visit has been lambasted by Labour MPs, who claim he is spending taxpayers’ money on a ”promotional tour”.

Dianne Abbott, a candidate for London mayor when Boris’ term expiries in 2016, revealed that Boris' US sojourn was costing the public purse £25,000. This follows a trip to Kurdistan earlier this year on which Johnson was photographed shooting an AK47 with peshmerger troops fighting the Islamic State group.

Abbott said: “We're all watching Boris tour the world. Yesterday Iraq, today the United States. It looks less like something that's been done for the benefit of London and more like a promotional tour for a future Conservative leader who is a party-time mayor. He seems to be spending most of his time – and hundreds of thousands of pounds of taxpayers' money – promoting himself.”

London assembly Labour leader Len Duvall said that Johnson had “mentally checked out of City Hall”.

In response, the Mayor’s office said: “The Mayor's job is to promote London and drive investment and job creationism to the capital. On this trip we have already announced a raft of new investment and job creation from US tech companies seeking to locate in London.

Earlier in the day Boris was filmed racing toy cars against The Huffington Post's Arianna Huffington. It is not clear who is driving which car, but it did not look like a close contest.

Hillary Clinton in quotes:

19 Perfect Quotes From Hillary Clinton
"You have to be true to yourself. You have to be enough in touch with who you are and what you want, how you want to live and what's important to you, to make your decisions based on that. Sometimes that's very difficult."(01 of19)
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Marie Claire, October 18, 2012 (credit:Giphy.com)
"I have always believed that women are not victims, we are agents of change, we are drivers of progress, we are makers of peace -- all we need is a fighting chance."(02 of19)
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Speech, Women in the World Summit, April 5, 2013 (credit:Associated Press)
"You show people what you're willing to fight for when you fight for your friends."(03 of19)
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Cabinet and Staff Retreat at Camp David, January 1993 (credit:Giphy.com)
"Equal pay is not yet equal. A woman makes 77 cents on a dollar and women of color make 67 cents... We feel so passionately about this because we are not only running for office, but we each, in our own way, have lived it. We have seen it. We have underst(04 of19)
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Democratic Primary Debate, Congressional Black Caucus Institute, January 21, 2008 (credit:Associated Press)
"I am a woman and, like millions of women, I know there are still barriers and biases out there, often unconscious, and I want to build an America that respects and embraces the potential of every last one of us."(05 of19)
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Concession Speech, Jun 7, 2008 (credit:Giphy.com)
"Educating young women is not only morally right, but it is also the most important investment any society can make in order to further and advance the values and the interests of the people."(06 of19)
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"The Secretary," 2013 (credit:Getty Images)
"Gay rights are human rights."(07 of19)
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Speech, International Human Rights Day, Geneva, Switzerland, December 6, 2011
"Part of the great challenge of living is defining yourself in your moment, of seizing the opportunities that you are given, and of making the very best choices you can."(08 of19)
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Speech, University of Texas at Austin, April 7, 1993
"There's that kind of double bind that women find themselves in. On the one hand, yes, be smart, stand up for yourself. On the other hand, don't offend anybody, don't step on toes, or you'll become somebody that nobody likes because you're too assertive."(09 of19)
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Midwest Today, June 1994 (credit:Giphy.com)
"There are very few people who go through life without needing anyone, without having to make any sacrifice for anyone else. In fact, it's kind of an impoverished life, if that's the attitude." (10 of19)
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The New Yorker, October 13, 2003 (credit:Associated Press)
"My doctrine is the Goldilocks Doctrine -- not too hot, not too cold, just right."(11 of19)
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The Atlantic, May 10, 2011
"I can't stand whining. I can't stand the kind of paralysis that some people fall into because they're not happy with the choices they've made. You live in a time when there are endless choices... Money certainly helps, and having that kind of financial p(12 of19)
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Marie Claire, October 18, 2012 (credit:Getty Images)
"The world is changing beneath our feet and it is past time to embrace a twenty-first -century approach to advancing the rights and opportunities of women and girls at home and across the globe."(13 of19)
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Speech, Women in the World Summit, April 5, 2013 (credit:Associated Press)
"American women don't need lectures from Washington about values. We don't need to hear about an idealized world that was never as righteous or carefree as some would like to think."(14 of19)
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Commencement Speech, Wellesley College, May 29, 1992
"I always believed you could learn something from nearly everybody you meet, if you're open to it."(15 of19)
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"Hillary Rodham Clinton: A First Lady Of Our Time," 1993 (credit:Associated Press)
"I choose my cards. I play them to the best of my ability. Move on to the the next hand."(16 of19)
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The New York Times, November 10, 2012
"If women are healthy and educated, their families will flourish. If women are free from violence, their families will flourish. If women have a chance to work and earn as full and equal partners in society, their families will flourish. And when families(17 of19)
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Speech, United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women, September 5, 1995 (credit:Associated Press)
"The harder they hit, the more encouraged I get."(18 of19)
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The Unique Voice Of Hillary Rodham Clinton, 1996 (credit:Giphy.com)
"There is no doubt in my mind that without the involvement of women in the economy, in politics, in peace-making, in every aspect of society, you can't realize [a country's] full potential."(19 of19)
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Marie Claire, October 18, 2012 (credit:Associated Press)
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