A cheeky and not-so-local news headline made the rounds on social media this week after Boris Johnson announced his resignation as Britain’s Prime Minister following a number of scandals.
Responding to the news from London that Mr Johnson had decided to step down on Thursday morning, American cable news channel NY1 covered the resignation by pointing-out the local angle to the story.
“New Yorker stepping down as UK PM,” the ticker on NY1 read, which was shared across social media and Twitter by Bob Hardt, the cable channel’s political director.
He wrote that the headline was, “One of the greatest NY1 headlines ever”, with thousands of people on the social media platform in agreement.
“Born in the Upper East Side, no less!”, wrote May Malik, a former New York congresswoman of Mr Johnson’s place of birth.
“The most hilarious thing I learned today is that Boris Johnson is technically a New Yorker cause he was born in the US,” another Twitter user wrote of the fact.
Many others highlighted how the outgoing Conservative Party leader had renounced his US citizenship in 2016, two years before he became prime minister.
That meant he could have stood for election in the US, theoretically.
“The way many don’t know that he was born in New York & technically was an American until he renounced it in 2016,” wrote on person. “Yeah, I looked him up years ago cause I was confused as to WTF was happening.”
Author Roe Hogan quipped: “All news is local news, if you find the right angle.”
“Biggest NYC story since a local Queens man lost the presidential election,” wrote another of headlines that were aimed at former US president Donald Trump – another “New Yorker” – following his 2020 election defeat.
Mr Trump has frequently been compared to Mr Johnson, who resigned after pressure from senior Conservative politicians in his party amid another scandal that raised questions about his “decency”.
