Former United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson has endorsed Donald Trump to be the next president of the United States, arguing that the controversial former leader might just be "what the world needs" right now — as long as Trump supports Ukraine in its war against Russia.
"We all need to grow up and get used to the prospect," the former British leader wrote Friday in his weekly Daily Mail column. "If he does the right thing and backs the Ukrainians — and I believe he will — a Trump presidency can be a big win for the world."
NATO-skeptic Trump — who has repeatedly lavished praise on the bellicose Russian President Vladimir Putin — has sparked fears in Kyiv that he would withdraw the U.S. military aid for Ukraine; Such concerns are echoed in other Western capitals. But Johnson disagrees.
The globe needs a leader "whose willingness to use force and sheer unpredictability is a major deterrent to the enemies of the West" who is "an enthusiastic exponent of free markets and capitalism" and who is interested in a "proper free trade deal with the U.K.”
And Trump is "your man," Johnson said.
Johnson, who was forced out as U.K. prime minister in summer 2022, has remained a staunch ally of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, even visiting the Ukrainian capital in January 2023.
Last year, Johnson took his lobbying overseas, turning up in Texas to rouse support for Ukraine among dozens of leading American conservative figures including politicians, donors and captains of industry. Johnson was attempting to curb growing discontent among Republicans over America's financial support for Ukraine.
In his column, Johnson wrote that Trump was the first U.S. president to stand up for Ukraine, giving them “those Javelin anti-tank weapons” in 2018 which were “so valuable” in the battle for Kyiv.
"So whatever they now say about President Trump, I cannot believe that he will want to go down in history as the President who abandoned a country that he has already signally helped to keep free," Johnson wrote.