Donald Trump congratulates Boris on election victory

13 December 2019, 06:12

By EJ Ward

One world leader has commented more on the UK's general election than others, US President Donald Trump has been a vocal contributor.

Throwing his support behind Boris Johnson, President Trump proclaimed the Tory leader a "fantastic man," but Mr Trump was a key feature of the election for one other reason.

One of Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn's key campaign points was that Boris Johnson intended to sell off part of the NHS to Donald Trump.

At other times Mr Corbyn used documents he claimed was leaked to him to suggest the NHS was on the table in trade talks between the UK and the US.

Within an hour of the election result being announced President Trump congratulated Boris Johnson "on his great win."

He tweeted: "Britain and the United States will now be free to strike a massive new Trade Deal after BREXIT. This deal has the potential to be far bigger and more lucrative than any deal that could be made with the E.U. Celebrate Boris!"

A Labour spokesman said: "These documents reveal the plot against our NHS. And of course, neither the UK nor the US government have denied their authenticity. Our releasing them to journalists was clearly in the public interest."

This was not the first tit-for-tat exchange between the leader of the Labour party and the leader of America.

In October during a world exclusive interview with LBC, Mr Trump said Jeremy Corbyn would be "so bad" for the UK and encouraged Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage to team up with Boris Johnson.

"Corbyn would be so bad for your country. He'd be so bad, he'd take you in such a bad way. He'd take you into such bad places," Mr Trump said.

The Labour leader took to Twitter to hit back at the President, Mr Corbyn tweeted: "Donald Trump is trying to interfere in Britain's election to get his friend Boris Johnson elected,"

"It was Trump who said in June the NHS is 'on the table'. And he knows if Labour wins US corporations won't get their hands on it. Our NHS is not for sale."

Mr Trump dismissed Mr Corbyn's warnings that the NHS will be up for grabs for the US after Brexit, telling LBC: "Not at all. We wouldn't even be involved in that, no.

"It's not for us to have anything to do with your health care system. No, we're just talking about trade."

As results were still being counted in the early hours of Friday morning, Mr Trump tweeted that it was "looking like a big win for Boris," with Mr Johnson taking victory a short while later.

Boris Johnson hails 'mandate to get Brexit done' as Tories sweep to election victory.

In his interview with Mr Farage, the President said: "I have great relationships with many of the leaders, including Boris.

"He is a fantastic man and I think he is the exact right guy for the times and I know that you and him will end up doing something that could be terrific.

"If you and he get together, you know, unstoppable force and Corbyn would be so bad for your country.

"He would be so bad. He would take you in such a bad way. He would take you into such bad places."

With President Trump arriving in the UK just a week before the election took place, both sides were quick to make it clear it was not the place of other world leaders to get involved in one another's elections.

At one point a senior White House official told journalists that President Trump was “absolutely cognizant of not, again, wading into other country’s elections.”

While senior Tories were concerned that a Trump intervention could impact on the Conservative vote, Boris Johnson addressed the issue when he spoke to LBC.

Mr Johnson told LBC: “What we don’t do traditionally as loving allies and friends, what we don’t do traditionally, is get involved in each other’s election campaigns.

“The best (thing) when you have close friends and allies like the U.S. and the UK is for neither side to get involved in each other’s election.”