Yvette Cooper: Boris Johnson is ‘stupid’ for defending Donald Trump
(Getty)
PinkNews Exclusive
Yvette Cooper has laid into Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson over his defence of Donald Trump.
The former Labour leader contender labelled Boris’s backing of the US President’s tweets “stupid” in an interview with PinkNews.
Cooper, now chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, also called on Theresa May to persuade the DUP to drop their anti-LGBT views.
Yvette Cooper (Labour)
The Labour MP told PinkNews: “I think for Boris Johnson to say that Trump’s tweets are somehow OK because they engage people, I think is completely unacceptable and a really stupid thing to say.
“Actually what Donald Trump does is pursue division and inequality and injustice.”
She added: “I think that the problem with Donald Trump is that what he does is he peddles hatred and he peddles division and he tries to make that normal.”
The Foreign Secretary previously told BBC Radio 4 that he envied Trump’s use of the social network.
He said: “Donald Trump’s approach to politics has been something that has gripped the imagination of people around the world.
“He has engaged people in politics in a way that we haven’t seen for a long time, with his tweets and all the rest of it.
“I certainly wouldn’t be allowed to tweet in the way that he does, much as I might like to.”
Speaking while at Pride in London, Yvette Cooper continued: “London celebrates our diversity, we celebrate equality, we have everybody coming together and pulling together and that’s actually what a strong city does.
“That’s the strong thing to do – not the kind of divisive, weak thing that I think in the end Donald Trump always does.”
RELATED: Boris Johnson challenges countries with anti-gay laws
Signing of the DUP’s agreement with the Conservative Party (Getty)
Ms Cooper also called on Prime Minister Theresa May to use the DUP’s new position as a negotiating position for equality in Northern Ireland.
She told PinkNews: “I think what Theresa May’s done is a really dodgy deal by having a billion pounds just for Northern Ireland but not for everywhere else and it’s all about her position rather than about what’s in the interest of the country.
“But I think, look, we should seize on any opportunity to promote equality and to use any deal that’s done or any relationship to actually make sure that we can go further in getting equal marriage, in getting equal rights in Northern Ireland as well.”
