Trump: Boris is a good guy
President praises Tory leadership hopeful whom he is expected to meet on state visit
DONALD TRUMP has indicated Boris Johnson is his preferred Conservative leadership candidate as frustration grows over Brexit in the White House.
The US president stopped short of formally endorsing the former foreign secretary yesterday but described him as a “friend” for whom he had “a lot of respect”.
He is expected to meet Mr Johnson privately during next week’s state visit in what would be a notable breach of convention.
Nigel Farage, the Brexit Party leader who campaigned for the president in 2016, may also be invited, sparking speculation that Mr Trump may seek to act as a go-between to encourage the two men to form a political alliance.
Senior US administration figures have talked up a Johnson-farage pact, likening it to Ronald Reagan’s blue collar conservatism that won the Republicans 12 years in the White House.
Asked if he would see either man, Mr Trump said: “Well, I may. Nigel Farage is a friend of mine. Boris is a friend of mine. They are two very good guys, very interesting people.
“Nigel has had a big victory, he has picked up 32 per cent of the vote starting from nothing and I think they are big powers over there. I think they have done a good job.
“I like them. They are friends of mine but I haven’t thought about supporting them. Maybe it is not my business to support people but I have a lot of respect for both of those men.”
Winfield House, the US ambassador’s residence in Regent’s Park where Mr Trump will spend much of his time on the visit, is a possible location for a meeting. A dinner will be hosted there on Tuesday evening.
Mr Trump arrives in the UK on Monday and stays until Wednesday when he will set off for France for the D-day 75th anniversary commemorations.
Sources for Mr Johnson and Mr Farage said nothing was in the diary. Mr Farage said: “I haven’t pushed it. I will wait to see what happens.”
A meeting could help Mr Johnson’s leadership ambitions, showing he can establish a rapport with the president, whose personal relations with Theresa May have been lukewarm. UK officials say they are unaware of any US request to meet Mr Johnson or Mr Farage. The president met Mr Johnson at the UN in New York in September 2017.
Mr Trump will raise concerns over Huawei being given access to the UK’S 5G infrastructure, John Bolton, the US National Security Adviser, confirmed. Mr Bolton said the US would accept “zero” risk of telecoms networks being intercepted by foreign powers.
Meanwhile, Mark Harper, the former chief whip, today becomes the 12th Tory MP to declare their candidacy in the party leadership contest, telling The Daily Telegraph he is “embarrassed” at the failure to pass key domestic legislation. Michael Gove’s leadership bid received a boost from Neil Parish, his chief inquisitor as chairman of the Commons environment committee, who said he would back him. Writing on the Telegraph website, Mr Parish said Mr Gove “stands out” as “a great communicator and operator”.
RORY Stewart risks being banned from entering the United States after his admission that he had smoked opium at a wedding party in Iran.
Leading lawyers warned that the International Development Secretary’s confession, in an interview with The Daily Telegraph, raises serious issues about his admissibility into the country. The Tory leadership contender appears to have fallen foul of section 212 of Washington’s 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act.
A key clause says aliens who admit to having committed offences involving illegal drugs – which include opium – are classed as ineligible for visas and admission to the US.
Mr Stewart yesterday apologised for his indiscretion during a trek across Iran, describing it as a “very stupid mistake”. He added: “I was at a wedding in a large community meeting and somebody passed this pipe around the room and I smoked it – I shouldn’t have done, I was wrong.”
Anastasia Tonello, an immigration lawyer based in New York, said: “I think this could cause him a problem.
“There is an element of selective use of this power. Idris Elba admitted selling drugs as a bouncer but has not yet been denied entry to the US. But this did stop Nigella Lawson from entering the US following her public admission of using cocaine. Admitting to smoking opium has undoubtedly exposed him to scrutiny in terms of entry to the US and he could be found inadmissible.”
Jason Sullivan, an immigration lawyer in New Hampshire, added: “Every foreign national seeking to enter the United States of America must complete a visa application, which specifically asks about the applicant’s prior drug abuse and whether the applicant has ever violated a law relating to controlled substances anywhere in the world.
“An admission to prior use of opium will likely render Mr Stewart inadmissible to the United States of America.”
The US Department of Homeland Security declined to comment on an individual case.
A number of high-profile Britons have been denied entry to the US, including Pete Doherty, the rock singer, who was turned back at JFK airport because of his history of drug arrests.
Amy Winehouse, the late pop singer, was banned in 2009 because of convictions for assault and drugs offences.
Mr Stewart, a former prisons minister, walked through Afghanistan, Iran and other parts of Asia during a twoyear odyssey that became the basis for a best-selling travel book, The Places in Between.