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Robert Jenrick squirmed as he was challenged over his past support for Donald Trump, saying it is “natural” for a Conservative to lean towards Republican candidates.
The Tory leadership contest frontrunner was noticeably uncomfortable when the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg challenged him over his past support for the bombastic ex-US president.
He avoided using Trump’s name when repeatedly asked the question, instead reverting to historic links between the Tories and Republicans in the US.
Asked if he backs Trump on Sunday, Mr Jenrick said: “The Conservative Party has strong and historic links to the Republican Party, so it is natural that we would lean towards Republican candidates.
“It’s clearly going to be a close race. I respect Kamala Harris, I would obviously seek to work productively and constructively with whoever is the next president of the United States.
“I think it’s normal, it is natural for a Conservative to lean towards Republican candidates.”
His latest comments about Trump were less decisively supportive than his previous remarks on the issue.
In August, Mr Jenrick said: “If I were an American citizen, I would be voting for Donald Trump.”
The remarks come on the first day of the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, which will see the four leadership contenders – Mr Jenrick, Kemi Badenoch, James Cleverly and Tom Tugendhat – parade themselves in front of party members in what has been described as a beauty contest to shore up support.
They will take part in two official leadership hustings events as well as Q&A sessions, fringe events and drinks receptions as they make their case to the Tory rank and file.
The final two contenders will face a vote of party members next month.
Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, Mr Jenrick, who is the MP for Newark, said immigration would be at the top of his list of issues to fix.
He said: “I want to reclaim the mantle for the Conservative Party of low tax and pro-growth, but I don’t agree that the age of mass migration has made our country richer.”
Mr Jenrick added: “There are multiple failures that we need to acknowledge as a party, whilst obviously defending everything we’ve got right in government, and then we’ve got to listen to the public and set out serious answers to those challenges.
“I’ve spent the last few months thinking very deeply about how we do that, and I don’t want to waste the next five years debating those things – that’s a recipe for more infighting and for further loss of public trust.
“I want to use this leadership contest for us to settle those things and have a clear plan as to how we take our party and our country forward, and I have that, in particular on immigration.”
