President of the United States Donald Trump has congratulated Boris Trump on becoming prime minister and says he will do a ‘great’ job.
Mr Trump tweeted: ‘Congratulations to Boris Johnson on becoming the new Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He will be great!’
He issued the statement moments after Johnson was named leader of the Conservative Party.
Mr Johnson, who has long been favourite to take over from current Prime Minister Theresa May, will be formally confirmed as Prime Minister when Mrs May meets the Queen tomorrow and recommends him as her successor.
Before Mr Johnson was named new leader of the Tories, Mr Trump repeatedly spoke of his desire for him to become the next Prime Minister.
Last week the president said: ‘I like him. I spoke to him yesterday. I think we’re going to have a great relationship.’
Mr Trump also took the opportunity to hit out at Mrs May, claiming she had ‘done a very bad job with Brexit.’
He added: ‘It’s a disaster and it shouldn’t be that way.
‘I think Boris will straighten it out.’
Mr Johnson has claimed he will make striking a post-Brexit trade deal with the United States a key priority of his government.
But he has faced questions over whether he will be able to stand up to Mr Trump.
During a head-to-head debate with rival Jeremy Hunt last week, Mr Johnson did not explicitly condemn Mr Trump’s assertion that four non-white US Congresswomen should ‘go back home’.
Mr Johnson also refused to back UK Ambassador to the US Kim Darroch after cables were leaked which saw Mr Darroch brand President Trump ‘inept’.
The leaks prompted outrage from Mr Trump, with Mr Darroch reportedly deciding to stand down after seeing Mr Johnson refuse to give him his full support during an earlier TV debate.
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