Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon believes now is the time for Boris Johnson to challenge British prime minister Theresa May for her job, the Daily Telegraph reported on Saturday.

Bannon’s remarks come shortly after Donald Trump, in an interview with the Rupert Murdoch-owned Sun newspaper published hours before he was due to meet May, directly criticised May’s Brexit strategy and heaped praise on Johnson, saying he “would be a great prime minister”.

Johnson, who led the main Leave campaign in the 2016 referendum, resigned as foreign secretary on Monday over May’s strategy which he said was killing the “Brexit dream”.



Bannon was Trump’s 2016 campaign chair and senior White House strategist before leaving the administration last year. His standing in Trump’s orbit was damaged by the publication of a book about the Trump White House by the author Michael Wolff but he has since positioned himself again as a leading voice on the US far right.

He was quoted by the Telegraph as saying: “Theresa May has got a lot of great qualities – I am not sure if it is the right leader at the right time.”

May’s government was rattled by the departures of Johnson and her chief Brexit negotiator David Davis just days after she appeared to have gained the support of her cabinet.

Asked if now was the moment for Johnson to lead the UK, Bannon said: “I believe moments come. It is like Donald Trump … people dismissed him.”

He added: “Now is the moment. If Boris Johnson looks at this … There comes an inflection point, the Chequers deal was an inflection point, we will have to see what happens.“

On Friday, the Telegraph said Johnson had re-joined the newspaper as a columnist.