WASHINGTON _ President Donald Trump said Boris Johnson, the pro-Brexit front-runner vying to replace Prime Minister Theresa May, "would do a very good job" as the U.K.'s next leader.
"I think he would be excellent," Trump said in an interview with the Sun, a London newspaper owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. "I like him. I have always liked him. I don't know that he is going to be chosen, but I think he is a very good guy, a very talented person," Trump said.
Trump's comments come days before he is to arrive in London for a state visit, and represent a break with custom not to offer commentary on allies' internal political contests. Trump also created a controversy last July when he said Johnson would make a great prime minister. That was shortly after Johnson, a former London mayor, quit as foreign secretary in protest against May's proposed Brexit deal.
Trump said that while he liked Johnson _ and the fact "he has been very positive about me" _ his words shouldn't be construed as a full endorsement.
"Other people have asked me for an endorsement too," Trump said. He added that he believed his backing would "help anybody," and that he also was a fan of Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and his plan to increase defense spending. Trump said he had not been approached by Environment Secretary Michael Gove, who is also among the candidates for the leadership of the ruling Conservative Party.
Earlier this week, Trump said he might meet with Johnson as well as Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage while he was in Britain. May, who repeatedly failed to secure Parliament's backing for her proposed deal to exit the European Union, has said she will step down on June 7 _ after the president's visit.
