Why scandal might topple Boris Johnson but couldn't touch Trump


Here's a question American liberals would like answered: If Boris Johnson can go down, why can't Donald Trump?
Johnson, the British prime minister, appears to be on the cusp of losing his office. Nearly two-thirds of Britons think he should resign after revelations that Johnson and his staff attended parties at 10 Downing Street while the nation was under a pandemic lockdown. The Metropolitan Police are now investigating whether any laws were broken. It all seems so petty compared to the myriad scandals that hounded Trump's presidency, yet the former president has — so far — mostly managed to wriggle free of formal accountability.
That's really frustrating, especially in light of Britain now modeling how things could have gone.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But the United States was never going to take the path Britain is now on for three major reasons: culture, impact, and hypocrisy.
Culture: Britons have cultivated a lore surrounding "stiff upper lip" notions of duty and shared sacrifice. Queen Elizabeth joined the British Army as a young princess during World War II and learned how to fix trucks. During the pandemic, she sat alone in the church for her husband's funeral, obeying the country's COVID rules even in her grief. Millions of her subjects did likewise. Meanwhile, Johnson's staff held a "bring your own booze" get-together during COVID's darkest days. The prime minister didn't just fail in his duty — he did so in a way that violated his country's best traditions.
Impact: Trump arguably did something similar to Johnson's transgression by unleashing the lies that ultimately culminated in the Jan. 6 insurrection. But that offense didn't touch people's lives quite so directly as Johnson's. Americans often profess a love of democracy and the Constitution, but those concepts are more abstract than the experience of being forced to hunker down in your home or risk arrest. Trump corruptly enriched himself, lied, and openly cheated — but the many Americans who don't doomscroll Twitter every day could avoid taking notice. It was impossible for Britons, by contrast, to ignore the lockdowns. Their anger at Johnson's hypocrisy is more intense because it's so personal. (For a closer American analogy, look to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who faced a recall election last year for much the same reason.)
Hypocrisy: Johnson is being hoisted on his hypocrisy. Britons are understandably angry that the man who ordered them to stop seeing friends and family couldn't abide by the same rules. But if hypocrisy is the "tribute vice pays to virtue," then Donald Trump has never been much of a hypocrite. He has always been a cad and a rapscallion — and proud of it. Americans put him in the White House anyway. Trump has evaded scandal after scandal for many reasons, but one of them is that he has benefited from the soft bigotry of low expectations. Johnson is something of a bad boy himself, but he isn't as lucky as Trump; Britons, it seems, actually had expectations of him.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Joel Mathis is a writer with 30 years of newspaper and online journalism experience. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic and The Kansas City Star. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.
-
September 14 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include RFK Jr on the hook, the destruction of discourse, and more
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-war
Talking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
A tour of Sri Lanka’s beautiful north
The Week Recommends ‘Less frenetic’ than the south, this region is full of beautiful wildlife, historical sites and resorts
-
Air strikes in the Caribbean: Trump’s murky narco-war
Talking Point Drug cartels ‘don’t follow Marquess of Queensberry Rules’, but US military air strikes on speedboats rely on strained interpretation of ‘invasion’
-
Graphic videos of Charlie Kirk’s death renew debate over online censorship
Talking Points Social media ‘promises unfiltered access, but without guarantees of truth and without protection from harm’
-
Calls for both calm and consequences follow Kirk killing
TALKING POINTS The suspected assassination of far-right activist Charlie Kirk has some public figures pleading for restraint, while others agitate for violent reprisals
-
Why does Donald Trump keep showing up at major sporting events?
Today's Big Question Trump has appeared at the Super Bowl, the Daytona 500 and other events
-
‘Democracy is under threat globally’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Former top FBI agents sue, claiming Trump purge
Speed Read The agents alleged they were targeted by a “campaign of retribution”
-
Why does Trump keep interfering in the NYC mayoral race?
Today's Big Question The president has seemingly taken an outsized interest in his hometown elections, but are his efforts to block Zohran Mamdani about political expediency or something deeper?
-
Judge lets Cook stay at Fed while appealing ouster
Speed Read Trump had attempted to fire Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud