The State Department's Spokesman Almost Laughed When He Learned About Boris Johnson's New Job
The former mayor of London is now Britain’s chief diplomat and the special relationship has never been more special.
In a shocking turn of events, newly appointed British Prime Minister Theresa May has named this man to be the next Foreign Secretary.
Foreign Secretary, the UK's version of the Secretary of State, is one of the four Great Offices in the United Kingdom and thus kind of a big deal.
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The new secretary, Boris Johnson, is the former mayor of London and led the charge for Brexit, drawing on his populist base to help swing the vote.
He was in the running to be Prime Minister himself before withdrawing in a shocking turn of events soon after the vote. He's now going to be the person leading the negotiations with the European Union for Britain's exit so sometimes life just finds new ways to surprise and/or disappoint us.
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The reason for everyone's shock is that Boris has a history of being less than diplomatic, including within the last few months saying President Obama has an "ancestral dislike of the British Empire."
Johnson was actually referring to the fact that Obama moved a bust of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office. Really. Obama himself brushed it off, noting that the statue now sits outside his personal office on the White House's second floor.
"Right outside the door of the Treaty Room, so that I see it every day - including on weekends when I'm going into that office to watch a basketball game - the primary image I see is a bust of Winston Churchill," he said. "It's there voluntarily because I can do anything on the second floor. I love the guy."
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(He also called Obama "hypocritical" in April for backing the UK remaining in the European Union and too many other diplomatic faux pas for us to list in this article.)
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