Trump reportedly deferred to the UK on standing up to Putin: 'I would rather follow than lead'

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September 5, 2020

By Bob Brigham

Meeting notes leaked to the British newspaper The Telegraph paint a fascinating picture of the relationship between the UK and America during the Trump era — and also shed new light on Trump’s relationship with Vladimir Putin.

The leaked documents are contemporaneous notes taken by U.S. officials “during seven meetings and calls involving either the leader or top foreign minister of Britain or America.”

“Trump pushed back hard on Theresa May’s pleas to expel Russian diplomats after the Skripal poisoning,” the newspaper reported.

“I would rather follow than lead,” the leader of the free world reported said.

snip

https://www.rawstory.com/2020/09/trump-reportedly-deferred-to-the-uk-on-standing-up-to-putin-i-would-rather-follow-than-lead/

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Can you imagine the collective aneurysm that republicans would've had if President Obama had been so weak? Every day there's something new that makes me despise him even more.

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. Fuck, it's worse. Johnson built close working relationships with Jared Kushner and Stephen Miller

Mr Trump pushed back hard on Theresa May’s pleas to expel Russian diplomats after the Skripal poisoning, saying “I would rather follow than lead”
The US president wondered why there was so much “hatred” in Northern Ireland and asked Mrs May during a lunch why Mr Johnson was not prime minister
Mr Johnson built close working relationships with Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, and adviser Stephen Miller, while forging ties with the Trump inner circle
The president was at times "hectoring" towards Mrs May in "nightmare" phone calls and would ask other world leaders what they thought of her
Mr Trump cancelled his planned first visit to Britain as president at the last minute over the schedule and scrapped a call with Mrs May due to a foreign policy clash.​

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/09/05/exclusive-leaked-meeting-notes-show-boris-johnson-said-trump/

Notice Trump cannot cope with a woman, even on his side. And Johnson cosies up to the most awful in the Trump regime. And brown-noses Trump ridiculously:

“The visit’s going to be very important. We’re going to give him a great time,” Mr Johnson said, according to the notes, adding later: “The president is increasingly popular in the UK.” Mr Pompeo is quoted responding: “We’ll put him on a street corner of Piccadilly. He can shake hands with people. That would be great.” Mr Johnson added: “That would be crazy.”

The tone of the last comments described is unknown but appears to be tongue in cheek. It is also unclear whether there was evidence backing up Mr Johnson’s ”increasingly popular" claim.

A poll of Britons conducted by YouGov the week before found 74 per cent of respondents had an unfavourable view of Mr Trump while just 16 per cent had a favourable view. A third meeting involving Mr Johnson came on May 26 2017.