As ambassador, Johnson has had to navigate Trump’s relations with British leaders. The president was furious with the prime minister at the time, Theresa May, and rebuked her on transatlantic phone calls. His relationships with Prime Minister Boris Johnson, a like-minded populist, have been warmer, although Johnson has sometimes drifted away from Trump, who is very unpopular in Britain.
A prominent Republican donor, Johnson initially supported Jeb Bush for the Republican nomination in 2016, but later endorsed Trump and introduced him to other figures in the party’s monetary circles. Enlisting Mr. Johnson as an emissary on behalf of his golf course was another way the President sought help to advance his financial interests.
Beyond the legal and ethical red flags, asking that favor of your host country would put Mr. Johnson in an unsustainable position as an emissary of the United States.
“It is bad diplomatic practice because once you do that, you put yourself in a compromised position,” said Norman L. Eisen, who served as President Barack Obama’s special ethics adviser and later as his ambassador to the Czech Republic. “They can always say, ‘Remember that time when you made that suggestion.’ No experienced diplomat would do that. “
For Mr. Johnson, 73, London was a fitting reward for the billionaire heir to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical fortune. Formally known as the Court of St. James’s, the assignment is the plum of the diplomatic corps, which comes with a palatial residence, Winfield House, and enters the highest levels of British society.
Like many political appointments, Mr. Johnson had no diplomatic experience before arriving in London. Good-natured and well connected, he is primarily known by the nickname Woody and his ownership of the New York Jets, a constantly struggling NFL franchise. His transition to running a large embassy was uneven.
Johnson’s pushback style has been criticized as offensive. There have been complaints that he complimented the appearances of female employees during staff meetings, and after interviewing a candidate to replace Mr. Lukens as deputy chief of mission, he asked a colleague if she was Jewish.
