Donald Trump arrives in Britain tomorrow after lobbing a grenade into the Tory leadership race by backing Boris Johnson.
The US President yesterday said the former foreign secretary would be “excellent” in the role just days before MPs begin voting to replace Theresa May.
Trump defied diplomatic norms by giving his backing to Johnson ahead of his three-day state visit to the UK.
He said: “I like him. I have always liked him. I don’t know that he is going to be chosen, but I think he is a very good guy, a very talented person. He has been very positive about me and our country.”
The President also commended Jeremy Hunt, another Tory in the packed field, but did not rate Michael Gove after he criticised his stance on Iran.
Johnson is the frontrunner to be the next Tory leader but the bookmakers’ odds on him have drifted slightly.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn described Trump’s comments as “entirely unacceptable interference in our democracy”. He wrote on Twitter: “The next PM should be chosen not by the US President, nor by 100,000 unrepresentative Tory party members, but by the British people in a general election.”
The President and First Lady Melania Trump arrive in the UK tomorrow.
A ceremonial welcome attended by the Queen, Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall will be held in the Buckingham Palace garden.
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