Donald Trump is a Boris Johnson fan, or seems to be. He tweeted his pleasure at the British prime minister’s election triumph last week. In Boris, and Brexit, Donald sees a friend in need. He almost never fails to talk about ‘the UK’ without saying that he likes the PM.
But is that transatlantic amity reciprocated? Boris has said kind things about the 45th president — but he’s also been less generous in his assessments. He didn’t exactly distance himself from Justin Trudeau and Emmanuel Macron at the recent Nato summit, as they all sniggered at Trump’s silliness.
Boris is much closer, in fact, to one of Trump’s possible opponents in 2020. Mike Bloomberg and Bojo go way back. The billionaire Democratic hopeful even helps employ his girlfriend. Carrie Symonds, the first extramarital partner of a prime minister to live in Downing Street, works for the marine charity Oceana. According to its website, Carrie works for the Bloomberg Foundation’s Vibrant Oceans scheme.
Carrie is a passionate environmentalist and eminently qualified for such a role. She left her role as head of communications for the Conservative party soon after her affair with Johnson became public knowledge earlier this year.
Boris and Mike developed a bond when they were mayors of London and New York, respectively. The two worked on various schemes to bring the two cities together. Boris was born in the Big Apple and is a New York enthusiast. Carrie Symonds’s nickname, funnily enough, is Apples. Cockburn wonders if these strange coincidences might somehow elide in the coming months.
