Boris Johnson Admits 'It's Ludicrous' He's Prime Minister, Former Aide Claims
Dominic Cummings, a former key advisor to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, claimed in a paid subscriber blog post that Johnson "regularly admits it's ludicrous he's prime minister."
Cummings unleashed plenty of criticism at his former boss in the Substack newsletter. He claimed Johnson “lies so blatantly so naturally, and so regularly,” that Johnson sees "no real distinction" between truth and lies.
The political strategist also said he knew beforehand that Johnson was “in any objective sense, unfit” to lead the country. He added that Johnson"routinely says and does things so foolish that people are open-mouthed."
Johnson's official spokesperson on Monday rejected the allegations.
Cummings, 49, became Johnson’s chief advisor in July 2019 when Johnson entered office after winning the leadership position for the Conservative Party following Theresa May’s resignation.
After his dismissal in November 2020, Cummings has become a fierce critic of Johnson and particularly of the government's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. An Edelman Trust Barometer poll in March showed that Brits' trust in Johnson’s government to “do the right thing” during the pandemic fell from 60% at the height of the first lockdown to just 44%. Meanwhile, 57% said the U.K. government handled the pandemic poorly.
Cummings has said that Tony Blair, who served as the prime minister as a member of the Labour Party, would have done a better job handling the pandemic.
In June, Cummings had stated that Johnson is "a pundit who stumbled into politics and acts like that 99% of the time but 1% not – and that 1% is why pundits misunderstand him/underestimate him" and that Downing Street has become “a branch of the entertainment industry.”
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