2021-01-14 09:08:00
{widget1}
Boris Johnson was forced to defend his previous support for the US President (PA) yesterday
2 min read
President Donald Trump is the first American leader in history to have been impeached twice by the House of Representatives after the & # 39; incitement & # 39; to the deadly Capitol Hill riots.
The incumbent president, who lost the November 2020 election to President-elect Joe Biden, was accused of encouraging last week's violence in Washington DC, where his supporters stormed the Capitol, with unsubstantiated claims of electoral fraud.
Ministers have defended the UK's close relationship with the US despite this historic intervention, with Secretary of Defense Victoria Atkins saying the UK should "always strive for good, strong and healthy relationships" with the US.
"Well, first of all, the violence we saw last week was clearly absolutely terrible, and the Prime Minister and Home Secretary were absolutely clear about that," she told Sky News.
“It was an attack on the very heart of democracy in America, and they were terrible sights to see.
“When it comes to our relationships with America, we should always strive for good, strong and healthy relationships with America. They are our strongest ally. We share so many similarities, whether in Western democratic values.
Trump's first impeachment took place in 2019, when he was accused of phone calls with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appearing to pressure the leader into investigating his political rivals.
Trump will now be tried in the Senate to decide whether his actions on January 6 amount to instigating an uprising.
But it is unlikely that the Republican president will face trial before Mr. Biden is sworn in on January 20, with Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell arguing that there will not be enough time for a "fair or serious trial."
Looking at the news tonight and even more unbelievably, our prime minister is behind the twice-deposed divisive uprising that inspired Donald Trump. Shameful #LiasonCommittee https://t.co/9b0W3PdjIo
– Catherine McKinnell (@CatMcKinnell) January 13, 2021
On Wednesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson was forced to defend his previous support for Donald Trump, including comments in 2018 suggesting the US leader should win the Nobel Peace Prize for his involvement in the Iran nuclear deal, which Trump subsequently pulled from the US . from.
When he appeared before the Liaison Committee prior to Mr. Trump's impeachment, Mr. Johnson was asked by Petitions Committee Chair Catherine McKinnell if he regretted the comments.
“I am in favor of the UK Prime Minister having the best possible relationship with the President of the United States and I recently had an excellent conversation with President-elect Joe Biden,” he said.
{widget2}