Fmr British PM Johnson Pitches Ukraine Support in Texas

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is in Texas to rustle up support for Ukraine, brought to the largest red state by pro-Ukraine think tank Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) for a lunch with the state’s conservative leaders.

“I just urge you all to stick with it,” Johnson said at a Dallas luncheon attended by Politico. “It will pay off massively in the long run.”

Conservatives have been skeptical of endless support for Ukraine amid Russia’s ongoing war and Vladimir Putin’s invasion, seeking to claim the southern areas of the country along the Black Sea.

“You are backing the right horse,” Johnson said of the support for Ukraine, according to the report. “Ukraine is going to win. They are going to defeat Putin.”

CEPA CEO Alina Polyakova sought Johnson’s assistance in pitching unwavering support for Ukraine in the largest Republican-held state in the U.S.

“We wanted to make that case outside of Washington — where we all live in a bubble — and to really take it to the heartland, to places like Texas, to get more support for Ukraine, and make the case to people who are skeptical about that support,” Polyakova told Politico. “In many ways, Dallas and Texas are the center of the Republican debate.”

Johnson has “a lot of credibility as well with the base of the Republican Party,” according to Polyakova, and is “very much seen as the architect of the Western policy.”

Johnson had planned meetings with former President George W. Bush and Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott. Johnson stopped in Texas before the SCALE Global Summit in Las Vegas, which he is expected to receive a “six-figure sum” for speaking, according to the report.

Johnson’s pitch to Texas was that the price to support Ukraine is “value for money” on the alternative and will give the U.S. a “huge, huge boost for global security for a relatively small outlay,” he said at the luncheon, Politico reported.