Trump couldn't score a meeting with Boris Johnson

Nobody could get the meeting they wanted.

President Trump on Tuesday spoke with British MP Boris Johnson on the phone, but the latter declined Trump's invitation to meet in person while Trump was visiting the U.K. The conversation was reportedly friendly, but Johnson told the president he could not meet because he had to prepare for a campaign event — Johnson, who is pro-Brexit, is one of the frontrunners in the Tory party to replace outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May when she steps down from the post in June.

Trump praised Johnson over the weekend before he arrived in London, saying he'd make an "excellent" prime minister. Johnson, on the other hand, has not shied away from criticizing the president in the past, calling him "unfit" for office after Trump made false claims about there being "no-go" areas in London because of threats posed by Muslims.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

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.

Sign up

Trump was not the only major politician to face rejection during his stop in London, however. British Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn tried to set up a meeting with the president, a Labour spokesperson confirmed, but Trump shot him down.

Unlike Johnson, Trump did not have a prior commitment or even an excuse; he simply said Corbyn, whom he has never met, is a "negative force."