The Spectator Podcast: what kind of Brexit does Boris want?

In these fractious times, a public compliment from the President of the United States can be a mixed blessing for a British politician. On the one hand, Boris Johnson must be delighted to hear the leader of the free world dub him “exactly what the U.K. has been looking for”, especially after the relentless criticism that Donald Trump showered upon his predecessor. On the other hand though, an endorsement from the president also has the potential to embarrass a PM who has long battled his critics’ characterisation of him as a ‘mini-Trump’. For someone who styles himself as a standard-bearer for liberal conservatism and has spoken of delivering a ‘global Brexit’, comparisons to the proudly nationalist Trump are unwanted.

But is Johnson proving to be more Trumpian than he would like to imagine? In this week’s cover piece, Fraser Nelson writes