Boris Johnson told his co-presenters he was ‘allowed to plug my book’ during America Decides: US Presidential Election
Boris Johnson has been “fired for banging on about his book” during Channel 4’s coverage of the US election.
The former prime minister, who was making a guest appearance on America Decides: US Presidential Election, was told off by co-host Krishnan Guru-Murthy for holding up his memoir and plugging it just minutes into the show. Guru-Murthy told Mr Johnson to “put it away” and “stop it, enough” as he twice referenced his new book and attempted to hold it up to viewers. The Channel 4 newsreader described the former prime minister’s actions as “so cheap”. Mr Johnson retorted: “There’s absolutely nothing you can do to stop me ... I’m allowed to plug my book.”
Later during the panel discussion, Mr Johnson said he met with Donald Trump after the Republican nominee’s attempted assassination in July. “In case I failed to mention this, I am promoting my book Unleashed, and I had a talk with him about Ukraine,” he said. When asked about following in Mr Trump’s footsteps regarding a political comeback if he were to win the presidential election, Mr Johnson said: “The answer is obviously contained in Unleashed where you’ll find the full discussion of this subject.”
Co-host Emily Maitlis told him: “We are not all going to read your book, so just tell us, do you want to have a political comeback ... You can’t actually answer a single question.” Mr Johnson responded: “By the way Emily, I’ve answered all your questions all night. Currently, I am blissfully engaged promoting my book Unleashed, available in all good book stores.” After being challenged, Mr Johnson claimed: “Here is Channel 4 news, run by Ian Katz, sitting here doing the same old stunt that you tried in 2004 taking a massively skewed approach to a US election. I’m not standing for election here.”
Later in the programme, Mr Johnson was replaced on the Channel 4 panel by Michael Cohen - who served as a lawyer to former president Mr Trump. Guru-Murphy told viewers: “Boris Johnson has been fired for banging on about his book.”
It was not clear whether Mr Johnson’s exit from the programme had been planned or if he had departed early. Mr Johnson, 60, has been promoting his new memoir titled Unleashed after it was released last month. The 784-page book looks back on Mr Johnson’s time as prime minister - from 2019 to 2022 - including Brexit and the Covid pandemic. Channel 4 newsreader Guru-Murthy is at the helm of the channel’s first overnight US election programme since 1992 alongside former Newsnight presenter Maitlis. Political pundits, and a number of famous faces including Mr Johnson, joined the hosts in the Washington DC studio as the American public decides whether Democratic nominee Kamala Harris or Mr Trump becomes president. Guests on the programme include Republican supporter and reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner, Succession’s Brian Cox, who joined virtually from London, and Stormy Daniels, the woman at the centre of Mr Trump’s hush money trial following an affair between the two.
Mr Johnson and Ms Daniels squabbled over Trump’s character on the programme, as the former prime minister spoke favourably about the Republican presidential candidate. Mr Johnson said Trump brought “peace and relative stability” during his tenure as US president. After Mr Johnson described their friendship, Ms Daniels asked: “Would you leave your daughter alone with Donald Trump?” “I don’t see why not...yes,” Mr Johnson replied, before describing his interactions with Trump as “courteous” and “polite”.
When asked if while working with Trump he had feared for the women in his life, Mr Johnson added: “Nothing like that came up, of course not, because when you’re talking to the US president, the relationship you have as UK prime minister is one of great formality and importance. “And yes of course you develop a friendship, but actually, and I can say this in all sincerity, I never in my time with him was treated with anything other than complete courtesy and friendliness.” Meanwhile, Cox described Trump as a “monster” and “insane”. “We have to make sure that he doesn’t get in because he is a monster, he really is,” Cox said. “I think he’s deeply mentally unstable and I think he has been for some time. This is not a man who should be the president of the United States, absolutely not.” Boris Johnson and a representative for Channel 4 have been contacted by The Telegraph for comment.
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Currently his book "Unleased" has cost his publishers at least £1m and sold only 50,000 of 200,000 copies (although this is still better selling than David Cameron's or Liz Truss's memoirs).
