Oliver Dowden has said the United States remains a “strong and stable democracy”, as he refused to be drawn on whether he supports Donald Trump.
The deputy prime minister said the British government will “work with whomever the American people choose in their election next year”.
It comes after Trump was charged with plotting to overturn his 2020 presidential election defeat to Joe Biden.
The former president - who is the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination - is due to appear in court on Thursday in Washington DC.
It would be unusual for a British government minister to voice an opinion on who they wanted to be in the White House.
But Dowden has previously adopted the same rhetoric as many on the American right.
Speaking at the conservative Heritage Foundation think-tank in the US last year, the deputy PM claimed the West was suffering from a “painful woke psychodrama”.
In an interview with Sky News this morning, Dowden was asked: “Are you a Donald Trump supporter? What do you make of Trump’s drama now?”
He said: “The democratic processes of of the USA are entirely a matter for the people of the USA. You wouldn’t expect a government minister to comment on that.
The interviewer asked again: “Are you a Trump supporter though?”
Dowden said: “I don’t back one side or the other. It’s for the American people to make their decision.
“British government minsters will respect that decision and will work with whomever the American people choose in their election next year.
“I think Rishi Sunak - the prime minister - will respect what is a strong and stable democracy in the US. The people of the US are perfectly capable of choosing who they want to be their president.”
Dowden is running the country while Sunak takes a holiday with his family in California.
