This archive report was first published on 16 July 2019.
US President Donald Trump's xenophobic tweets about progressive Democrat congresswomen have sparked outrage in the UK, with Prime Minister hopefuls Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt condemning the comments as 'totally unacceptable.'
However, when pressed to call the tweets racist, both Johnson and Hunt refused to do so, instead focusing on the importance of the UK-US relationship.
Johnson, the front-runner in the Conservative Party leadership contest, said the original tweets expressed sentiments that 'went out decades and decades ago.'
He added, 'If you are the leader of a great multiracial, multicultural society, you simply cannot use that kind of language about sending people back where they came from.'
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt, who is also vying for the top job, recalled that he had three half-ethnically Chinese children who are British citizens.
He said, 'If anyone said to them, go back to China, I would be utterly appalled.'
Trump has developed good relations with Johnson and backs both his leadership bid and determination to take Britain out of the EU.
Some 160,000 paying members of the ruling Conservative Party are currently picking the country's new leader, with the winner to be announced on July 23.
The new prime minister formally assumes office the following day.
Published on July 16, 2019, by AFP.
