Bannon suggests Boris Johnson challenge UK’s May after Trump says he would be ‘great’ prime minister

by John Bowden - 07/14/18 3:44 PM ET

President Trump’s former White House chief strategist Stephen Bannon said Saturday that he hopes former British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson challenges Prime Minister Theresa May for her position.

Reuters reported that Bannon told British newspaper the Daily Telegraph that now was perhaps not the “right time” for a politician like May to lead the country.

“Theresa May has got a lot of great qualities — I am not sure if it is the right leader at the right time,” he said.

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Asked whether it was Johnson’s “time” to run for British prime minister, Bannon said Johnson was experiencing a political “moment” similar to the conditions that led to Trump’s victory in the 2016 election.

“I believe moments come. It is like Donald Trump … people dismissed him,” Bannon continued.

“Now is the moment,” he added. “If Boris Johnson looks at this … There comes an inflection point, the Chequers deal was an inflection point, we will have to see what happens.”

Bannon’s comments came after the release of an explosive interview Trump gave to the British tabloid The Sun, during which he trashed May’s plan for leaving the European Union and showered praise on Johnson, who had left the government days earlier in a surprise resignation.

“I was very saddened to see he was leaving government and I hope he goes back in at some point. I think he is a great representative for your country,” Trump said, adding that Johnson would make a “great prime minister.”

“Well, I am not pitting one against the other. I am just saying I think he would be a great prime minister. I think he’s got what it takes,” he added.

Trump is currently in Scotland on the third day of his four-day trip to the United Kingdom.

On Friday, he met with Queen Elizabeth II at her Windsor Castle residence as hundreds of thousands protested in the streets of downtown London.