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Prime Minister Boris Johnson has launched an extraordinary attack on President Donald Trump’s hush money trial, calling it “authoritarian and corrupt” and a “mob assassination”.
The former prime minister argued that American voters would see through the “legal war” waged by Democratic prosecutors to block the former president from winning a second term in November.
Mr Johnson’s intervention contrasted with the reactions of Rishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer, who refused to criticise the jury’s verdict, with the Labour leader insisting they would work with Mr Trump if he returned to the White House regardless of the outcome of the trial.
his Daily Mail “Whenever the jury foreman uttered the word ‘guilty’ in a Manhattan courtroom on Thursday, normal logic would have dealt a fatal blow to Donald Trump’s hopes of reclaiming the White House,” Johnson wrote in the column.
“He said it not just once, but 34 times. This was no ordinary political assassination. This was a machine gun style assassination run against Trump.”
The former prime minister criticised the “left-liberal media” and the “breathless awe of the TV journalists”, adding: “As the news was beamed onto screens around the world, every studio commentator’s voice trembled with excitement. For a brief, ecstatic moment, it seemed as if they really did believe they had got him.”
Johnson highlighted polls showing that 15% of American voters have become more likely to vote for Trump since his conviction.
He added: “The American people have examined this case and concluded that, on the whole, for all its sinister claims about its historical importance, it is a pile of old, dysfunctional nonsense.”
“It was blatantly political. It was completely contrived. The Democratic prosecutors thought they were being clever. They told themselves that framing Trump on this technicality was like framing Al Capone for tax evasion…
“It turns out that a majority of American voters believe what I saw happen: that liberal elites were appalled by Trump’s continued popularity and ability to connect with voters, and were doing everything they could to sabotage his campaign.
“It’s one of the oldest tricks in the anti-democratic playbook: If you can’t defeat a candidate at the ballot box, hire a lawyer and issue a warrant against that candidate.”
“When something like this happens in Africa or Russia, we condemn it as authoritarian and corrupt.
Well, the American people have seen it and decided that the methods and motives are essentially the same.”
Asked during the election campaign whether he would negotiate with Trump if the Conservatives remained in power on the Fourth of July, Mr Sunak replied: “You wouldn’t expect me to comment on the domestic politics or judicial proceedings of another country.”
“I’m firmly focused on the national elections and speaking to people across the country about their electoral choices. That’s my focus.”
Mr Starmer described it as an “unprecedented situation”, adding: “First and foremost we will respect the court’s decision in Mr Trump’s case”.
“We will work together no matter who is elected president… that’s a given.”
“We have a special relationship with the United States no matter who the president is, but this is an unprecedented situation, there’s no doubt about that.
“I think there’s still a long way to go in terms of what happens next.”