London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jan 22, 2026

BoJo says ‘nothing wrong with being WOKE’ after being pressed on Joe Biden’s set of values

BoJo says ‘nothing wrong with being WOKE’ after being pressed on Joe Biden’s set of values

In an unlikely admission from a man once dubbed the “British Trump,” Boris Johnson has admitted that he thinks there’s “nothing wrong with being woke,” before quickly describing himself as a man of tradition.

In an interview following the inauguration of President Joe Biden in Washington, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson was asked whether he considered Biden “woke.” In the middle of a rambling and typically Johnsonian answer, the PM slipped in that he thought there is “nothing wrong with being woke.”

Johnson didn’t elaborate further on whether he considered the new US president “woke,” but hastily added that he himself certainly isn’t. “I would put myself in the category of people who believe that it’s important to stick up for your history, your traditions, and your values and things you believe in.”


So Johnson won’t be spray painting war memorials or kneeling for ‘God Save the Queen’ any time soon. If the interview is anything to go by, he also won’t make any brash statements about the newly elected American president, a man whose favor is vital to Johnson following the UK’s departure from the EU.

But is Biden woke?

His political career beginning all the way back in the 1970s, Biden likely didn’t come across the term until his most recent run for office. During the primaries, progressive stalwart Bernie Sanders pandered to the Democratic party’s “woke” wing while Biden sought to recapture the center. “This phrase everybody’s been ‘woked’,” he mused during an ABC interview last Summer, “well, guess what? The rest of the working-class people in America have been awakened.”

His policies, however, can certainly be interpreted as “woke” when it comes to virtue signalling. Biden has pledged to pass the Equality Act, which would add sexual identity to the Civil Rights Act’s list of “protected classes,” and has nominated a cabinet that ticks more diversity boxes than any of his predecessors.’ He’s pledged citizenship for illegal immigrants, peppered his inauguration speech with references to the Black Lives Matter movement, and spoke of his belief that there should be “zero discrimination” against children choosing to be transgender.

Woke or not, Johnson congratulated Biden on his inauguration, saying on Wednesday: “when you look at the issues which unite me and Joe Biden, the UK and the US right now, there is a fantastic joint common agenda. For us and America, it is a big moment.”

Comments

gtr 5 year ago
Johnson "...describing himself as a man of tradition".
Since when has being a fabulist and a cockwomble been the traits of a man of tradition?

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Prince William to Make Official Visit to Saudi Arabia in February
Prince Harry Breaks Down in London Court, Says UK Tabloids Have Made Meghan Markle’s Life ‘Absolute Misery’
Malin + Goetz UK Business Enters Administration, All Stores Close
EU and UK Reject Trump’s Greenland-Linked Tariff Threats and Pledge Unified Response
UK Deepfake Crackdown Puts Intense Pressure on Musk’s Grok AI After Surge in Non-Consensual Explicit Images
Prince Harry Becomes Emotional in London Court, Invokes Memory of Princess Diana in Testimony Against UK Tabloids
UK Inflation Rises Unexpectedly but Interest Rate Cuts Still Seen as Likely
AI vs Work: The Battle Over Who Controls the Future of Labor
Buying an Ally’s Territory: Strategic Genius or Geopolitical Breakdown?
AI Everywhere: Power, Money, War, and the Race to Control the Future
Trump vs the World Order: Disruption Genius or Global Arsonist?
Trump vs the World Order: Disruption Genius or Global Arsonist?
Trump vs the World Order: Disruption Genius or Global Arsonist?
Trump vs the World Order: Disruption Genius or Global Arsonist?
Arctic Power Grab: Security Chessboard or Climate Crime Scene?
Starmer Steps Back from Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’ Amid Strained US–UK Relations
Prince Harry’s Lawyer Tells UK Court Daily Mail Was Complicit in Unlawful Privacy Invasions
UK Government Approves China’s ‘Mega Embassy’ in London Amid Debate Over Security and Diplomacy
Trump Cites UK’s Chagos Islands Sovereignty Shift as Justification for Pursuing Greenland Acquisition
UK Government Weighs Australia-Style Social Media Ban for Under-Sixteens Amid Rising Concern Over Online Harm
Trump Aides Say U.S. Has Discussed Offering Asylum to British Jews Amid Growing Antisemitism Concerns
UK Seeks Diplomatic De-escalation with Trump Over Greenland Tariff Threat
Prince Harry Returns to London as High Court Trial Begins Over Alleged Illegal Tabloid Snooping
High-Speed Train Collision in Southern Spain Kills at Least Twenty-One and Injures Scores
Meghan Markle May Return to the U.K. This Summer as Security Review Advances
Trump’s Greenland Tariff Threat Sparks EU Response and Risks Deep Transatlantic Rift
Prince Harry’s High Court Battle With Daily Mail Publisher Begins in London
Trump’s Tariff Escalation Presents Complex Challenges for the UK Economy
UK Prime Minister Starmer Rebukes Trump’s Greenland Tariff Strategy as Transatlantic Tensions Rise
Prince Harry’s Last Press Case in UK Court Signals Potential Turning Point in Media and Royal Relations
OpenAI to Begin Advertising in ChatGPT in Strategic Shift to New Revenue Model
GDP Growth Remains the Most Telling Barometer of Britain’s Economic Health
Prince William and Kate Middleton Stay Away as Prince Harry Visits London Amid Lingering Rift
Britain Braces for Colder Weather and Snow Risk as Temperatures Set to Plunge
Mass Protests Erupt as UK Nears Decision on China’s ‘Mega Embassy’ in London
Prince Harry to Return to UK to Testify in High-Profile Media Trial Against Associated Newspapers
Keir Starmer Rejects Trump’s Greenland Tariff Threat as ‘Completely Wrong’
Trump to hit Europe with 10% tariffs until Greenland deal is agreed
Prince Harry Returns to UK High Court as Final Privacy Trial Against Daily Mail Publisher Begins
Britain Confronts a Billion-Pound Wind Energy Paradox Amid Grid Constraints
The graduate 'jobpocalypse': Entry-level jobs are not shrinking. They are disappearing.
Cybercrime, Inc.: When Crime Becomes an Economy. How the World Accidentally Built a Twenty-Trillion-Dollar Criminal Economy
The Return of the Hands: Why the AI Age Is Rewriting the Meaning of “Real Work”
UK PM Kier Scammer Ridicules Tories With "Kamasutra"
Strategic Restraint, Credible Force, and the Discipline of Power
United Kingdom and Norway Endorse NATO’s ‘Arctic Sentry’ Mission Including Greenland
Woman Claiming to Be Freddie Mercury’s Secret Daughter Dies at Forty-Eight After Rare Cancer Battle
UK Launches First-Ever ‘Town of Culture’ Competition to Celebrate Local Stories and Boost Communities
Planned Sale of Shell and Exxon’s UK Gas Assets to Viaro Energy Collapses Amid Regulatory and Market Hurdles
UK Intensifies Arctic Security Engagement as Trump’s Greenland Rhetoric Fuels Allied Concern
×