“Are you a Trump supporter though?”

With Rishi Sunak away on holiday, Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden has taken on the responsibility for the day-to-day running of the country.

Dowden spent this morning doing a round of media interviews, where he was being quizzed about the state of the economy, with the Bank of England expected to yet again raise interest rates as well as on developments in the U.S., where Donald Trump is facing new criminal charges relating to attempts to overturn the 2020 election result.

Prosecutors have accused the Republican politician of attempting to obstruct “a bedrock function” of democracy in order to cling on to power.

Appearing on Sky News this morning, Dowden was asked about his views on Trump after he decided to speak at a pro-Trump think tank, where he told those attending that the US and UK couldn’t afford to ‘indulge in woke psychodrama’.

Dowden made the comments in a speech last year hosted by the Heritage Foundation, where he dubbed “woke” ideology as a “dangerous form of decadence” at a time when “our attention should be focused on external foes”.

Sky News presenter Jayne Secker said: “You spoke at a pro-Trump think-tank last year and said that the UK and the US can’t afford to indulge in woke psychodrama, what do you make of Trump’s drama now?”

Dowden replied: “The democratic processes of the USA are entirely a matter for the people of the USA. You wouldn’t expect a government minister to comment on that.

Secker asked again: “Are you a Trump supporter though?”

Dowden said: “I don’t back one side or the other. It’s for the American people to make their decision.

“British government minsters will respect that decision and will work with whomever the American people choose in their election next year.”

The fact that Dowden has railed against ‘woke ideology’ and allied himself with pro-Trump think tanks, clearly show which side he’s on.

Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward

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