James Cleverly danced around questions from Radio 4 over whether or not he would vote for Donald Trump if he were an American this morning.
Cleverly, the shadow home secretary who is the only Tory to confirm his plan to stand to be party leader, angrily dodged the query on the Today programme.
Tensions started to build when presenter Justin Webb pointed out that one of his likely competitors Suella Braverman has already said she would vote for the Republican if she was an American citizen.
Braverman told LBC on Tuesday that she believes the world would be “safer” with Trump in the White House.
But Cleverly immediately said it was a “moot point” because he is not a US citizen.
Webb hit back: “In other words, it’s a kind of test isn’t it, an early test, to go into this election and to make your pitch to the people, the Conservative Party member, and to tell them whether you are a backer of Trump or not.”
“Sorry Justin, that is a nonsense question,” the former home secretary replied.
The presenter tried again: “Hang on a second, someone who you are likely to be up against has already said she would be likely to vote for Trump.
“There is huge interest in the American presidential election, people feel very strongly about the candidates, it’s a perfectly reasonable question to ask you and it’s interesting that you don’t want to answer.”
Cleverly hit back: “I’m not an American citizen, I don’t have a vote in the American elections, I’ve been a minister in the foreign office when President Trump was president, I was foreign secretary when President Biden was president.
“I’ve worked with the administrations of both very effectively, I don’t, Suella doesn’t, British people do not have a vote in the US presidential elections.”
The top Tory said he would work with any administration the US elects, but it’s not “a test of candidates in a British political citizens” to ask them about a “parallel universe”.
Webb replied: “It’s interesting that some of your fellow candidates will say they would support Trump, some will say they wouldn’t, and you’re not going to say either way, which is fine.”
Cleverly angrily cut in: “No, that’s not what you said! You said, would you vote for’ and I said I can’t vote for.”
“Yeah, and Suella Braverman said she would. You’re just not answering,” Webb said.
“Justin, sorry, sorry – no no,” Cleverly began.
“Let’s go onto what you want to talk about –” Webb said.
“Yeah that would be good,” the ex-minister conceded.
The two moved the conversation onto reforming the Conservative Party after its historic loss in the general election.
The Tories will elect their new leader in November in an extended race to replace ex-PM Rishi Sunak at the helm of the party.
