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No, Boris Johnson is not the ‘British Trump’

Johnson’s British insinuations are far away from Trump’s ‘call ‘em out’ approach – and often more dangerous

Christabel Nsiah-Buadi
Saturday 24 August 2019 16:36 BST
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'They call him Britain Trump' - Stephen Colbert jokes about the similarities between Trump and Boris

It feels like everyone is comparing — or connecting — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson with Donald Trump these days; the US President did it himself last month while talking to students at a summit and Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn echoed the sentiment while talking to a crowd in Northamptonshire. Just this week, French President Emmanuel Macron warned that the UK would effectively become a “vassal” of the US if it leaves the EU without a deal.

I understand why people are drawing comparisons between the New York-born Johnson and Trump. They’re both unconventional politicians; they have been – or can be – hard to pin down ideologically; they’ve both used the system to undermine groups of people, and are media-savvy. Johnson was a newspaper reporter in a former life, while Trump is a former reality-show star. You could even argue that Johnson has an “American-ness” about him — he appears to be straight-talking, he’s unashamedly patriotic, and, like him or loathe him, Johnson is as charismatic as his Republican counterpart. Let’s not forget that both men have been accused of — and rely on — being seen as buffoonish. Trump’s intellect is called into question on a regular basis, and I can never un-see Johnson’s zipline snafu.

But that’s where the similarities end. Unfortunately, most people don’t see that – which is why such comparisons don’t serve us very well. Especially when it comes to domestic policy. And especially right now, when we’re a few months away from Brexit Day and there are rumours of a general election in the UK on the horizon.

As tempting as it is to use the shorthand of “British Trump” to win more votes (again, I’m looking at you, Jeremy Corbyn), it also encourages lazy thinking. By comparing him to Trump, there is also an implication being made that what Johnson is doing is unusual, un-British.

This attitude speaks to something Brits have a tendency to do: compare ourselves favourably to those crazy Americans who are too much: too loud, too brash, too racist. And the people who will lose out if we keep on doing this is the British public.

Here’s the thing: while we British are more reserved in general, we are all the things Americans are. The difference is that when Americans say it out loud, we’ll just suggest it. And that’s why comparing Johnson to Trump will hurt us in the end.

All you have to do is look at how Boris Johnson and his cabinet are attempting to tackle knife crime. The issue has had parents fearing for their kids’ lives in the same way parents in the US fear for their kids and guns. I’m not minimising the US gun crisis at all — I’m a mother of two living in Los Angeles, so I know that fear — and it was one that I immediately sensed when I returned to the UK this summer.

They all need an effective and real solution.

While these parents are looking for someone to take proper action, what they have been given is Johnson extolling the virtues of stop-and-search, a policy which has disproportionately targeted black and brown people for decades. This alongside the government-introduced #knifefree chicken boxes — a policy with racist and classist overtones — and proposed knife crime prevention orders for kids aged 12 and over who fit the profile.

No words were explicitly said, but the marketing and targeting of chicken boxes left us in no doubt that the government was targeting young kids who lived in certain areas, areas with a high concentration of families of colour. The suggestion was obvious, but there were no outright accusations. The approach was quite the opposite of Trump’s “call ‘em out” approach. Think about how these insinuations require us to put the pieces together, and play right into stereotypes. Think about the way in which these insidious actions affect a nation psychologically.

If we look at Johnson’s actions through the “British Trump” lens, it would be easy to conclude that he doesn’t really know what he’s doing, when in reality, it’s clear that it’s quite the opposite.

And while the opposition might think it’s prudent to use shorthand to score points against Johnson, I’d remind them that even if the British public is tired, people either side would appreciate someone to do as they say.

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When it comes to Johnson’s actions on the global stage, he understands that we need a new trade partner – and I suspect he’ll put up with the moniker as long as it gets him what he needs. Perhaps we should concern ourselves with that.

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