LONDON — When President Trump congratulated Boris Johnson on his landslide victory in the British general election, he was quick to move the focus to a trade deal. “Congratulations to Boris Johnson on his great WIN!” Trump tweeted. “This deal has the potential to be far bigger and more lucrative than any deal that could be made with the EU. Celebrate Boris!”
After weeks of purdah, when Trump tried his best to avoid riling British voters, he was free to praise the man he once described as “Britain Trump” and get on with the business of securing a trade deal. It reunites two leaders who have forged a close relationship based on a common appeal to blue-collar voters and a populist, anti-elite platform.
Their bond and emerging partnership echo that of previous U.S. and British leaders, such as Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher or Bill Clinton and Tony Blair.
Trump said on Friday that Johnson’s victory was a positive sign for his own reelection prospects, saying it “might be a harbinger of what’s to come in our country.”
The emphatic result — returning Johnson with the biggest majority since Margaret Thatcher’s day — will be pored over by Republican campaigners with an eye on 2020.
“Most people here are still focused on impeachment, but the smart ones will be looking at how Boris won, and in particular, how he managed to fight as the underdog — the leader thwarted by Parliament, despite being in power,” said a senior Republican strategist.
The two leaders are often compared for their luxuriant hair, their unconventional way with words, and their women problems. Yet they come from very different worlds. Where Trump styled himself in the cutthroat world of New York real estate, Johnson was educated at Britain’s most elite school and developed his speaking style in the rarefied debate hall of the Oxford Union.
Even so, they have developed a close bond over their shared antipathy to multilateral institutions, or at least one, in particular, the European Union. Aides say they speak about once a fortnight.
[Opinion: Boris Johnson schools the Democrats]
If Johnson is to capitalize on his promise to “get Brexit done,” he will have to rapidly begin work on the trade deals that will help Britain find its new place in the world.
Yet that could spark tension with the White House. For all the public promises, Conservatives privately say a deal with the United States is a lower priority than free trade deals with other allies, such as Australia.
“A deal with the U.S. is going to take a long time, and Number 10 knows it,” said a senior Conservative strategist. “Instead, you are going to see smaller deals so that the government can get some quick hits.”
But people who know Johnson well say comparisons with Trump do not go much beyond the superficial.
Guto Hari, his spokesman during his first term as London mayor, said Johnson spoke out against curtailing immigration and advocated for an amnesty for illegal immigrants, making him one of the more liberal in his party.
“I used to think of him as a contemporary, cosmopolitan, compassionate Conservative. Big heart, strong head, liberal,” he said. A Republican like Arnold Schwarzenegger might be a better comparison, he added.
Other party sources said Johnson’s haul of 365 seats and a comfortable majority of 80 meant he would no longer be at the mercy of his party’s Brexiteer faction, allowing him to revert to a more moderate Brexit plan.
“I think people forget that [he and Trump] are not really cut from the same cloth,” said a victorious Conservative candidate, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss his party’s leader. “But in a way, that doesn’t matter, and it doesn’t matter that the trade deal is going to be tough and time-consuming. Boris needs Trump because the most important thing is to present a vision of where Britain will be in the world, and that means a close connection with the U.S.”
