Richard Davies asks: How did the U.K. and the U.S. end up with Boris Johnson and Donald Trump?
Davies is a podcast consultant, host and solutions journalist at daviescontent.com.
I'm constantly amazed by how social and political trends skip borders, continents and oceans — especially between the U.K. and the USA.
I've lived and worked in both countries and saw the similarities first hand.
Britain and America of the 1980s turned sharply right with Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. Their styles were very different, but both were enormously popular for much of their time in office, and ushered in a period of firm leadership after the drift and malaise of the ‘70s.
Then came the “third way” politics of Bill Clinton and Tony Blair for much of the 1990s. Both men were center-left, easily won reelection, and benefited from pragmatic policies and successful economies, while standing up to the hardline progressives and socialists in their parties.
From 2000 to 2015 the U.K.-U.S. political parallels faded, but then came the Brexit shock, and the election of two charismatic, yet deeply flawed populists — Donald Trump and Boris Johnson.
During their time in office both of these unserious men gleefully broke the rules of normal political behavior. More than almost any other American or British leader, Boris and Donald simply don't think the rules apply to them. . .'
Boris Johnson and Donald Trump’s behaviour and how they’ve been treated is “similar,” says former advisor to David Cameron, Steve Hilton.
“One of the reasons I think they produce such vitriol from their opponents … they really challenged the policy bases of the establishment groupthink, for many, many years,” Mr Hilton told Sky News Australia host Piers Morgan.
Boris Johnson: Former PM meets Donald Trump to discuss Ukraine
Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson has met former President Donald Trump to discuss the situation in Ukraine.
The meeting took place on Thursday, during Mr Johnson's visit to the United States.
This week Mr Johnson has also met Republican politicians in Texas and Mr Trump's former secretary of state Mike Pompeo to shore up support for Ukraine.
- Mr Trump has previously described Mr Johnson as a friend but their stances on the Ukraine war differ.
Mr Johnson has been a vocal supporter, visiting Ukraine several times and calling for the West to provide more weapons to the country.
Mr Trump, on the other hand, has previously refused to commit to sending military aid to Ukraine if he returned to the White House and would not say who he thought should win the war.
The US has committed $46.65bn of arms and equipment to Ukraine over the past year, making it the largest donor of military aid to the country, followed by the UK, which has committed $7.16bn.
The pair have met several times before, including on the sidelines of the 2019 G7 summit in France.
When Mr Johnson became prime minister, Mr Trump described him as "a good man", adding: "They call him Britain Trump."
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