I’ll miss ‘good friend to UK’ Donald Trump, defence secretary says

‘Whatever people think of him, Donald Trump’s position towards the United Kingdom in many areas was totally aligned with us,’ says Ben Wallace

Defence secretary Ben Wallace has said he will “miss” Donald Trump as the US president has been “quite a good friend” to the British government.

The minister praised the outgoing US leader, who has repeatedly refused to admit defeat to president-elect Joe Biden, during a visit to British troops in Estonia.

“I’ll miss Donald Trump, because he was quite a good friend to Britain," Mr Wallace told The Sun.

“Whatever people think of him, Donald Trump’s position towards the United Kingdom in many areas was totally aligned with us.

“And we should all be grateful or happy when we have a US administration that supports Britain’s interests.”

His comments are likely to raise eyebrows, coming as Boris Johnson looks to forge close ties to Mr Biden having previously credited Mr Trump with “making America great again”.

The incoming US president suggested earlier this month that a post-Brexit trade deal with the UK would not be one of his priorities as he would be focused on “major investments” in the US first.

Recent polling has also shown that the defence secretary’s affection for Mr Trump is not shared by much of the British public, with analysis in November suggesting that the US president would lose every single constituency in the UK in a vote between himself and Mr Biden.

The Hanbury Strategy study showed 76 per cent of Britons would vote for Mr Biden, while only 24 per cent would back the Republican incumbent.

Another poll published in November for Opinium showed more than three times as many UK voters would have supported Mr Biden in the 2020 presidential election than Mr Trump.

About 57 per cent of British people supported the former vice-president, while just 16 per cent backed Mr Trump — with the Democratic candidate winning even among Conservative voters.