British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson says Europe must stop complaining about Donald Trump’s White House win.
“I would respectfully say to my beloved European friends and colleagues that I think it’s time we snapped out of the general doom and gloom about the result of this election and the collective ‘whinge-o-rama’ that seems to be going on in some places,” he said in Serbia Friday.
“I believe that this is a great opportunity for us in the U.K. to build on that relationship with America that is of fundamental economic importance for us, but also of great importance for stability and prosperity in the world.”
{mosads}Johnson’s remarks follow his sharp criticism of Trump while serving as mayor of London in December 2015.
The then-mayor said Trump’s calls for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the U.S. was “ill-informed” and “complete and utter nonsense” from someone “out of his mind.”
The Telegraph reported Friday that Nigel Farage will act as an unofficial intermediary between Trump and the British government.
Farage, the former head of the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP), was both a vocal advocate for Trump’s election and Britain’s so-called Brexit from the European Union (EU).
“Of Britain’s relationship there is going to be slightly difficult start,” he said Friday of ties between Trump’s campaign and the U.K.
“Nobody in the British government has reached out to his campaign, believing as with our [Brexit] referendum that he could not possibly win,” Farage added.
“The traditional relationship between the British Conservative Party and the Republicans has completely broken down.”
Trump stunned the world late Tuesday by defeating Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton for the presidency despite trailing her in national polling averages that morning.
The president-elect has invited new British Prime Minister Theresa May for a visit stateside while reaffirming his “warmth” for the U.K.
Nigel Farage to be Donald Trump's go-between as Boris Johnson rejects 'collective whinge-o-rama' pic.twitter.com/23P8AGOulo
— The Telegraph (@Telegraph) November 11, 2016