In “news” we’re prepared to spend exactly as much time on as warranted (so, very little), Boris Johnson has taken to calling himself to “the Incredible Hulk” after a string of humiliations left his Brexit (non)strategy in shambles.
Johnson this month moved to suspend Parliament, paving the way for a no-deal Brexit on October 31, only to see lawmakers seize control of the agenda and pass legislation that requires him to request an extension from the EU if an acceptable deal isn’t reached by mid-October.
More humiliating still was the resignation of his own brother and two consecutive votes against a related gambit to call for a general election. Amid the drama, 21 Tories (including Winston Churchill’s grandson) were expelled by Johnson, who continues to insist that somehow, he’s going to take the UK out of the EU by the end of next month.
Read more: Boris Johnson Loses Sixth Vote In Six Days As Election Gambit Fails Again After Hours Of Absurdity
“The madder Hulk gets, the stronger Hulk gets”, Johnson actually said, verbatim, in an exclusive interview with The Mail on Sunday, while elaborating on his strategy to negotiate with the EU.
He also claimed he’ll simply ignore the Commons vote compelling him to delay the UK’s departure.
(And yes, you read all of that correctly, even the part about ignoring the new law.)
For anyone not familiar with comic books or the Marvel cinematic universe, Johnson explained the Hulk reference. “[Bruce] Banner might be bound in manacles, but when provoked he would explode out of them”, a completely serious Boris told the Mail.
“Hulk always escaped, no matter how tightly bound in he seemed to be — and that is the case for this country”, he went on to say. “We will come out on October 31 and we will get it done”.
On Saturday, Johnson urged everyone not to be “fooled by Corbyn and the Remain ringleaders”, who he accused of trafficking in logical inconsistencies (because it’s entirely logical to call yourself the Incredible Hulk). “They say I don’t want a deal [but] on the other they want to force me to extend”, he said, adding that he’s “straining to get a deal, but will also end the uncertainty and take us out on October 31”.
Just to be clear, that almost assuredly will not happen, so anyone expecting as much should accord this latest absurdity from Boris precisely the amount of consideration it calls for, which is none.
