Johnson hopes Trump’s visit won’t hurt election chances
Boris Johnson is expected to minimise any public appearances with Donald Trump next week, amid concerns that the United States president’s visit to Britain could damage the Conservative Party’s election prospects.
Trump is due to arrive in London on Tuesday for a Nato summit. He will remain in Britain until Thursday, when he will hold a press conference before returning to America.
Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn says he is planning to ‘‘weaponise’’ Trump’s visit in a bid to gain ground on the Tories. He will use it to warn that Britain’s National Health Service will be up for sale in a post-Brexit trade deal with the US. Johnson has rejected this as ‘‘nonsense’’.
Johnson said yesterday he did not want Trump’s endorsement during his visit.
In the past, the president has repeatedly praised Johnson, describing him as a ‘‘good man’’ and ‘‘Britain Trump’’.
A Conservative source said the timing of the president’s visit and the Nato summit were ‘‘annoying’’.
Another senior Conservative said Trump’s visit had been identified early on as a ‘‘big problem . . . it’s very difficult to predict what he’s going to say’’.
A draft programme for the visit suggests that Johnson will be pictured alongside Trump only twice. There are no plans for them to hold a bilateral meeting, although arrangements are still being finalised.
Speaking before the visit, a senior US official said that while Trump liked Johnson, he was ‘‘absolutely cognisant of not wading in to other countries’ elections’’.