Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Boris Johnson among first allies Donald Trump’s Vice President Mike Pence calls

The Foreign Secretary has previously criticised Trump

Joe Watts
Political Editor
Friday 11 November 2016 06:55 EST
Comments
The Foreign Secretary confirmed he had spoken to Mike Pence on Twitter yesterday
The Foreign Secretary confirmed he had spoken to Mike Pence on Twitter yesterday

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Boris Johnson has spoken to Donald Trump’s Vice President-elect in what is thought to be one of the US politician’s first calls to a foreign ally.

Mr Johnson, who previously criticised Mr Trump as “out of his mind”, tweeted that the conversation with Mike Pence underlined the “importance of the special relationship & need to tackle global challenges together”.

It comes after Theresa May also had a conversation with President-elect Trump yesterday, albeit only after reports emerged that the US leader had not made contact with the UK a priority.

Mr Johnson has previously said Mr Trump is “unfit” for office after the property tycoon suggested a ban on Muslims entering the US.

But after the election result, Mr Johnson insisted the UK should be optimistic about the future, adding that it was time to be “overwhelmingly positive about the possibilities” of Mr Trump’s presidency.

He said: “It’s time that we snapped out of the general doom and gloom about the result of this election and collective ‘whinge-o-rama’ that seems to be going on in some places.”

Protests against Trump surge in cities across US for second night

The Prime Minister and Mr Trump had a telephone conversation at 1.45pm yesterday, Downing Street said, focusing on the UK-US “special relationship” and on strengthening bilateral trade.

But it came after news that Mr Trump had already spoken with at least nine leaders from other countries, including Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, Israel, Turkey, India, Japan, Australia and South Korea, before speaking with Ms May.

Meanwhile, Downing Street has rejected the idea that ministers may use Nigel Farage’s links to Mr Trump to build bridges with the next US President.

It was reported earlier this week that Mr Farage would likely become the first British politician to meet Mr Trump when he visits the US at the weekend.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in