Former Prime Minister Boris Johnson was “fired” during a guest appearance on Channel 4’s coverage of the US election.
According to the programme’s co-host, Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Johnson was fired “for banging on about his book.”
During the show Johnson was told off for holding up his memoir and plugging it just minutes into the live programme.
Guru-Murthy told the former PM to “put it away” and “stop it, enough.” Johnson retorted: “There’s absolutely nothing you can do to stop me… I’m allowed to plug my book.”
Boris Johnson plugged his book on Channel 4
Getty
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Later during the panel discussion, Johnson said he met with former US president and Republican nominee Donald Trump after his attempted assassination in July. He said: “In case I failed to mention this, I am promoting my book Unleashed, and I had a talk with him about Ukraine.”
When asked about following in Trump’s footsteps regarding a political comeback if he was to win the presidential election, Johnson said: “The answer is obviously contained in Unleashed where you’ll find the full discussion of this subject.”
Co-host Emily Maitlis told him: “We are not all going to read your book, so just tell us, do you want to have a political comeback… You can’t actually answer a single question.”
Johnson responded: “By the way Emily I’ve answered all your questions all night. Currently I am blissfully engaged promoting my book Unleashed, available in all good book stores.”
Boris Johnson kept referring to his book when asked questions by Channel 4 presenters
PA
Later in the programme, Johnson was replaced on the Channel 4 panel by Michael Cohen – who served as a lawyer to former president Trump. Guru-Murphy told viewers: “BorisJohnson has been fired for banging on about his book.”
It was not clear whether Johnson’s exit from the programme had been planned or if he had departed early. GB News has contacted Channel 4 and Boris Johnson for a comment.
Earlier, Johnson argued that Trump brought “peace and relative stability” during his tenure as US president, while Succession’s Brian Cox described him as a “monster.”
Cox said: “We have to make sure that [Trump] doesn’t get in because he is a monster, he really is. He’s crazy, he’s insane, he wants to be a dictator. …I think he’s lost it, quite frankly, I think he’s deeply mentally unstable and I think he has been for some time. This is not a man who should be the president of the United States, absolutely not.”
Actor Brian Cox slammed Donald Trump
PA
It came after Johnson explained that he did not think fears about Trump becoming president were accurate, including that he would “give away” Ukraine to Russia.
In response, Cox said: “It’s ridiculous, of course he will. He’ll do what suits him. He’ll do what suits Donald Trump. …The man is completely self-serving, he is totally self-serving, he is only interested in one thing, and that’s Donald Trump. He doesn’t give a damn about America, he really doesn’t.”
Johnson said he disagreed with Cox regarding Trump’s response to the Ukraine-Russia war if he was elected president.
He said: “I think he will come to it and he will see that if he surrenders, if he allows (Vladimir) Putin to win – for his pride, for his ego, it’s a disaster – it’s a disaster for America, it’s a disaster for the world.
“You can say that I’m wrong and I’m starry-eyed, and it’s not going to work out like that, and he’ll find a way of surrendering to Putin that somehow protects his reputation, his legacy. I don’t see how you do that, it’s a pretty unpolishable turd to be frank.”
Cox retorted: “I don’t buy it, I don’t buy any of it.”
