Stop ‘Defeatist’ Brexit Attitude and Take ‘Inspiration’ from Trump, Says U.S. Ambassador

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Liam Deacon

The UK must overcome a “defeatist” attitude after the Brexit vote, and the government should take “inspiration” from President Donald J. Trump in its approach to negotiations, the U.S. ambassador to Britain has said.

Robert “Woody” Johnson, a billionaire businessman, philanthropist, and keen Trump supporter, made the comments in an interview for a new Channel 4 documentary, reports The Daily Telegraph.

He questioned why the UK is so “nervous” about breaking free of the Brussels bureaucracy, urging the British people to not “be pessimistic and have faith”.

“How can a country with this great a history, this great a language, this great a legal system and this great a presence not be successful?”

He said he was “super confident” about the special relationship between Britain and the U.S., adding:

‘”The thing I want to get out more than anything else is an attitude that I feel I don’t see enough in this country and that is a confidence for where you are heading – light at the end of the tunnel with Brexit.”

He continued: “The British have always been experts and great business people, great business minds, so to see this defeatist attitude towards Brexit is a bit startling to me.

“I read nothing about anybody having a positive attitude towards Brexit or towards the future. As an American I’m just not used to that.”

He also said: “I’m super confident about the relationship between the US and the UK. I’m very confident about our future together, I’m very confident about what happens after Brexit.

“I don’t think that is a major challenge, why are we so nervous? We don’t have the confidence in ourselves? We got the best people right here to do it. That is my take on my first months here.”

Adding: “When you look at Donald Trump and what he has done, maybe take some inspiration and do some of the things he has done. I mean he turned something round in one year, he has got 3 per cent growth.”

Earlier this month, Britain’s foreign secretary Boris Johnson said he admires President Trump’s hard-nosed way of dealing with European Union (EU) bureaucrats, claiming he “might get somewhere” if he dealt with Brexit.

The president and his UK ambassador have also repeatedly promised to quickly negotiate a trade deal with the UK after it leaves the EU and takes back control of its trade policy.

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