Trump says Boris Johnson win could be 'harbinger' for him

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Trump speaks during a meeting with Paraguay's President Mario Abdo Benitez at the White House. PHOTO: AP

WASHINGTON (AFP) - President Donald Trump said on Friday (Dec 13) that the big election win by his ally Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Britain bodes well for his own fortunes in 2020.

"I want to congratulate Boris Johnson on a terrific victory. I think that might be a harbinger of what's to come in our country. It was last time," Trump told reporters at the White House.

Johnson's Conservatives won a landslide, trouncing left-wing Labour after a bitter campaign overshadowed by the Brexit process of taking Britain out of the European Union.

Trump is campaigning for reelection next year in what is already shaping up to be the most polarizing contest in the United States for decades.

Parallels are often drawn between Trump and Johnson, who share an unconventional political style and go-it-alone diplomatic policies.

In 2016, British voters defied expectations to back Brexit, shortly before US voters sent Trump to the White House in a shock upset against the heavily favored Hillary Clinton.

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