As we discussed yesterday, Boris Johnson won his Tory party leadership vote, which means that he’ll replace Theresa May as prime minister of Great Britain. Theresa May was seen exiting 10 Downing Street today, her last day as PM. One of Johnson’s first acts in power was to hire Dominic Cummings as his new senior advisor. Cummings is best known as the guy who waged the successful Vote Leave/Brexit campaign, and he did so with data and racism and anti-immigration dog-whistles. This goes along perfectly with Boris Johnson’s history of racism and hateful racist dog-whistles and neo-colonialist bulls–t. And as such, far-right leaders and fascists from around the world are embracing Boris Johnson right now.
Rightwing, populist and nationalist leaders have welcomed Boris Johnson’s imminent arrival in Downing Street after Donald Trump praised the UK’s new prime minister as a “Britain Trump” who was “tough and smart” and would “do a great job”. In Italy, Matteo Salvini, leader of the far-right, anti-immigration League and deputy prime minister, wished Johnson “all the best”, adding: “The fact that on the left they are painting him as ‘more dangerous than the League’ makes me like him even more.”
Brazil’s authoritarian far-right president, Jair Bolsonaro, added his congratulations, tweeting that Johnson had been elected “on a commendable commitment to respect the wishes of the British people” and could “count on Brazil in the pursuit of free trade … and the defence of freedom and democracy”.
Pauline Hanson, the leader of the populist far-right One Nation movement in Australia, said she was “absolutely thrilled” that Johnson was to be Britain’s new prime minister, adding: “Hopefully the people of Britain can now have their voices heard” and “Bring on Brexit!”
In Germany, the leaders of the far-right, anti-immigration AfD’s parliamentary party, Alice Weidel and Alexander Gauland, issued an official statement congratulating Johnson on his appointment as the next head of government.
Yikes. So what happens next, Brits? A general election in the fall? Will Labour leadership step up and give people some better options? And WTF is happening with Brexit at this point? SMDH.
"He's a liar, he is a racist. What more can you say? He doesn't represent any of the people of this country."
Here's what some Londoners had to say about the new British Prime Minister, Boris Johnson.https://t.co/JyuhRnmYd8 pic.twitter.com/SfNrrr6Mtx
— euronews (@euronews) July 24, 2019
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
He’s a prick who needs to be iliminated immediately, anyway anyhow. Disgusting.
To the Twitter video people… same.
P.s. what is happening?!
The world is falling apart. Here in Brazil we have the imbecile Bolsonaro…now this buffoon.
What a mess. I think many of us need to come to the harsh realization that a lot of people in this world agree with Boris Johnson and Donald Trump. There was a time when most people tried to keep their bigotry hidden, but now they feel emboldened and want everyone to know how hateful they are.
I agree Melissa. Reading the comments on many reputable newspaper’s Facebook pages about this you get a real feeling that so many people love that “lefties” are losing. They don’t care who wins so long as they are right wing and own their racism.
I’ve never felt so confused. As an Australian who loathes our current PM I take some very small comfort that he’s not a complete buffoon like Johnson. And his racism is still hidden. Our country is still obsessed with tax cuts.
The irony is that despite their best efforts, the US now has the most diverse Congress in history and it’s become mundane and expected for women to run for President.
Way to own the libs.
Hey Brunswickstoval have you seen HBO’s Brexit movie starring Benedict Cumberbach? He played Dominic Cummings. It clearly illustrates how the right used fear and simple emotional messages to trigger the vote. It was Facebook and targeted marketing. This ISN’T what a normal vote would have produced. Brexit wouldn’t exist without emotional, targeted marketing. The right is manipulating elections and votes. That is all. That is why it is so confusing. Watch the movie … you will be amazed.
I agree. It’s so terrifying how many people are filled with hate and fear. This news has had a huge affect on me as a Brit. How did these dangerous weasel creep in the back door? I need to tap out of the news cycle for a bit because I can really feel it starting to fuel my anxiety
These politicians are thriving on the hate and fear. Brexit is mostly about hate and fear. Most of the people I’ve spoken to who voted for Brexit, did so because of ‘all of the immigrants coming into the country’.
Donald Trump has supporters here in the UK too and I think @Melissa is right, it’s given people confidence to say exactly what they think.
Absolutely. These people are proud of the hate they put out into the world and it’s terrifying.
He has called the French “turds”, gay people “tank topped bum boys” and has recently asked about Irish leader Leo Varadkar ‘Why isn’t he called Murphy like all the rest of them’ and has won a £1,000 prize for a rude poem about the Turkish president having sex with a goat.
What the fu*k is going on in the world, that this person is allowed into power? Larry The Downing Street Cat would be a better option than him.
Trump and Brexit have unleashed a racist element in society and enabled racist politicians such as Trump and Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (his full name) to flourish.
It will be interesting to see whether the extreme right wing will be quite so happy to embrace him when they find out that Boris has Turkish, Muslim and Russian Jewish roots through his great grandfathers.
It is ironic that the family changed name from Kemal to Johnson (a maternal grandmother’s maiden name) during the First World War to avoid a backlash and discrimination in Britain of being associated with Turkey/the Ottoman Empire that were allied with Germany!
Racism existed long before Trump and Brexit. People are just more vocal about it now.
I think that’s exactly what she’s saying though. They’ve “unleashed” it and “enabled” it.
Dani, I agree with you. Racism and hate weren’t born 4 years ago. I have no idea why people are so surprised suddenly. Perhaps we’ve all lived in hyporicital bigotry too long. Everyone was pretending to be something they’re not.
Remember Apartheid was abolished in the 90s. That’s 1990s, not 1890s. Not really long ago.
Also racial segregation was legal in the US in the 50s. Again, 1950s, not 1850s.
Really, not ancient times. I bet you most people who support Trump and Johnson were alive during those times. This is what they grew up in. Their parents probably taught them it’s normal to behave this way.
I fear that “white nationalist” is becoming an identity rather than a political position. These people are here to stay.
I don’t see anyone making the point that racism didn’t exist 4 years ago, so that’s a straw-man.
There has absolutely been a change in our society, where what was previously viewed as unacceptable is now being treated as normal. This is evident by the massive increase in hate crimes during recent years.
It’s not that racism didn’t exist before, it is that people feared consequences for engaging in it explicitly and publicly. There is much less fear of consequences, and that is having devastating impacts on POC and migrants.
Putin is assembling his army for world domination. Dominic Cummings has heavy links to Russia where he worked as an Strategy Advisory for many years.
The cold war is back on people.
Dominic Cummings …..wait, he was played by Benedict Cumberbatch just recently in that Brexit movie!!!!
Cummings is a nasty nasty human being, he is Johnson’s Stephen Miller/Steve Bannon.
The Cold War never ended, it was just dormant.
Blowback is a bitch…
We get Obama…Blowback is Tramp…
We get Princess Meghan blowback is Brexit and Boris without Natasha….
That damn blowback….
Meghan has nothing to do with it. This has been years in the making. The only silver linning is he wasn’t chosen by the people I guess.
What the hell does Meghan have to do with Brexit? The vote happened months before anyone knew about her and Harrys relationship. They only started dating after the vote had even happened.
Okay, so the timing of the poster above was off, an honest mistake. But I think a very strong argument could be made for blowback happening with regards to Princess Meghan.
He’s so awful. This is a genuinely terrifying situation over here in the UK. The NYT has an op ed which does a good job of outlining some of the horror of this latest episode of Brexit Bullsh-t https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/22/opinion/boris-johnson-prime-minister-britain.html#click=https://t.co/AL4fHay16E
I saw Trump in the above photo. Apparently twins separated at birth.
they look so much alike! but I do find little Johnson scarier since he is a bit more intelligent than Trump. At least this came out yesterday, sorry if someone already shared it and it made me smile a little in these sad times https://vimeo.com/349649184
The pictures choice are on point lol
Good god. As an American, appalled as I am about dump and his ilk, seeing it spread is even more sickening. This seems catastrophic.
Has Trump sent him an invite to Mar-a-lago yet?
If he doesn’t deliver Brexit by 31st October he is out, he knows this and is why he has surrounded himself with nasty people like himself. He will try and bully the EU and if that doesn’t work will bully parliament by proroguing to crash us out without a deal and he will take us out without a deal as he has said he will. The leave voters are gloating like trumpkins over the fact that many people are not happy with Johnson as PM – they see this as sticking it to the remainers. The fail to understand that if we crash out without a deal, things like fresh fruit and medicines will become scarce and very expensive and people won’t be able to go on their cheap holidays to Europe as we won’t be able to cross borders.
Regardless of the outcome on 31st October the damage he will do will take generations to repair, if they can.
The only difference between him and Trump is that Johnson is highly intelligent. Like Trump Johnson will destroy a country to get what he wants and to inflate his tiny ego.
Stock up on the wine (fruit, veg and medicines) ladies as its going to be a rough ride.
The medicine point is a good one Digital, here the Irish government are working out plans for the “just in time” medicines (drugs manufactured on demand due to their cost and also have a short shelf-life and cannot be stockpiled) like treatment for cancer patients. My father in law died last week from cancer, and his care team were excellent but chatting to them it is clear to see that they are in a panic about what Brexit means for Irish patients, they are legitimately scared that lives could be lost over this bull$hit.
The US and Britain have run out of ideas, so we’re going back to the Middle Ages.
Trump and Johnson are the best that the white supremacists have to offer. Pathetic.
“Trump and Johnson are the best that the white supremacists have to offer. Pathetic.”
I laughed real hard at this. I suppose we ought to be grateful these buffoons are the best that there is from team hate. I’m glad they don’t have actual intelligent too-faced players (Putin style) who would pose an actual threat.
Hopefully we only have to endure Lloyd and Harry from Dumb and Dumber for a few years, and there isn’t anyone else smart and credible from their camp waiting in the wings.
The crux of the issue for the left is trying to help these downtrodden white racists so that they will come together much like they did when they voted for Bill Clinton and Obama. Most have lost their factory or coal mining jobs and have turned to low paying jobs or drugs. How do we do this? IMO, we make trades more accessible and affordable through education. Here in Canada, we have 2 and 3 year programs at a lot of colleges and they then go into high paying and sometimes union based trades: plumbers, electricians, hvac, aviation mechanics, car mechanics, etc. We need to give the people not suited for bachelor degrees an improved quality of life in the US. I think this also will help if we raise the minimum wage. I am unsure if the same issue is happening in the UK.
Will this solve all the problems? No. But it may be a start in the right direction.
Vocational and trade schools are so undervalued. I don’t even think trades are being encouraged at the high school level anymore. They weren’t as much when I was in school, seemed like they were on their way out. The impression given then was that trades were for people who couldn’t get a “real” (aka corporate) job.
I felt the same way when I was growing up in the US also (I am 38 and been living in Canada 7 years now). Trades and vocations were viewed as for “dumb jocks” who couldn’t get sport scholarships to college. The problem is only 36% of Americans get higher education, so what about the rest of the Americans? They can’t all join the military(and that was viewed where I was from as for the less intelligent people who couldn’t get into college). This is one of the many reasons there is such an opioid epidemic. You are viewed as a “loser” if you don’t attend college now.
I probably have no right to speak for these people: I grew up privileged: only child, daughter of an only child, private school education, my parents paid for undergraduate and graduate school. But I get that if you weren’t raised like myself, it would be a considerable struggle in America.
There is also a deep divide between the educated and uneducated/under educated in the US. I have nothing in common with a lot of my cousins and no longer speak to them because they made of me and appeared bitter with my education and financial status because I did not have to work 2 and 3 jobs like them to make ends meet.
True @Valerie. In NYC, the DOE, established by former Mayor Michael Bloomberg (another Dump-Trump undercover ally) shut down a plethora of high schools which originally offered industrial arts and home economics courses to establish mini high schools, which mainly carries Math, Science and Social Studies. Many students who wanted to engage in vocational studies plus performing arts had to attend non-NYCDOE schools which offered these lessons–and pay moderate to exorbitant fees to register! This is really messed the hell up!
The moment high schools jumped on the STEM bandwagon (I’m sticking with that word, bandwagon), any trade/vocational classes went out (especially when the housing market crashed in 2008 & schools had to make budget cuts). My high school has “talked” about bring back some of the vocational classes but that’s all it has been – talked. I tell students all the time, that if you drive & own a car, at some point you will need a mechanic; same goes with a plumber, etc & those jobs can pay. But they want the glamour & Instagram lifestyle that comes with a corner office job. Jobs like mining can be cut but there needs to a program in place that can retrain those workers for other fields.
@phaedra7 That is disgusting!
That is a great idea. In the US, the GOP has been union busting for many years now, and so they are incredibly weakened.
I agree. When certain types of people are told who to blame for their low paying jobs and sour prospects, they believe.
This is exactly what is meant when it’s said that Trump has emboldened racists and dictators. He has normalized this kind of behaviour and now it’s spreading. What the hell is wrong with voters?
As I stated above, they are poor and struggling in the US. It is no excuse for racist behavior, but they feel like everyone is taking away jobs from them and they can’t afford the “American dream”. Only 36% of Americans have higher than a high school diploma. They are downtrodden, poor, and angry. 100 million Americans are near poverty, that is 1/3 of Americans. Neither the left or the right are really helping these people.
It is no excuse for the racist behavior PERIOD. No need for your but. It is legitimate for people to be upset because they are failing economically, but it is not okay to legitimize racist and xenophobic “feelings” that are espoused by a party and have no basis in truth.
“Neither the left or the right are really helping these people. ”
That’s absolutely wrong!
They might not FEEL like the left is helping them due to right-wing propaganda, but the Democrats absolutely implement and support legislation that helps the poor and struggling. From worker’s rights, to assistance programs, consumer protections, job training, funding education, funding infrastructure projects that employ blue-collar workers, medicaid expansion, the left DOES help people in need.
America: Let’s find the most idiotic, obnoxious, racist man we can and make him the leader of our country.
Britain: Hold my beer!
Canada may lose in October Trudeau to scary Andrew Scheer.
Who would’ve thought that to be a world leader right now, you just need horrible blond hair, middling intelligence and a heap of racism? Ugh.
Boris Johnson used to be mayor of London so people in London need to chill with the he doesn’t represent any of the people in this country. He was their Mayor for eight years! Clearly some of the populace of London liked him enough to get him elected Mayor twice.
Wow, I had forgotten about this. That is disgusting to say the least!
Yes and its the Londoners who supposedly have all the common sense in the UK (at least according to Londoners themselves)
Do you all know who our present mayor is? He’s a very intelligent lawyer, the son of a bus-driving immigrant from Pakistan. He’s annoyed your president by his very existence. Yes, he’s Sadiq Khan! Sometimes we vote for good people (Khan), sometimes we vote for not so good people (Boris), sometimes we vote for people who seemed mostly reasonable at the time but have turned out to be raging anti-semites (Ken Livingstone, don’t ask). The position of London mayor is new. We’re still figuring it out.
Andrew Scheer has the charisma of a pre pubescent boy with a video gaming addiction. Fingers crossed Bernier splits the fascist right wing vote.
I’m hopeful that Larry the Cat remains in residence… he’ll be the only thing to watch with fondness at 10 Downing.
Of course Bolsonaro congratulated him. I think the world really ended in 2012 and we’re living inside a beast’s belly.