Boris Johnson hailed Donald Trump for completing the “most spectacular political comeback of all time”.
The former prime minister was among UK political figures in Washington for his second inauguration as US President.
Mr Johnson, who has been at the centre of comeback rumours himself since he was forced out of No 10, wrote in the Daily Mail: “Sitting feet away in the rotunda of the Capitol building I saw the moment the world’s wokerati had worked so hard to prevent.
“I saw the resurrection of the man they despised and reviled – the second inauguration that so many believed was morally, politically, legally, perhaps even biologically, impossible.
“In taking that oath – with Melania by his side in her blue boater – Donald Trump became not just the 45th but also the 47th president and completed the most spectacular political comeback of all time.”
Mr Johnson highlighted how Mr Trump had “fought day in, day out for four years to reclaim the presidency”, speaking at hundreds of rallies.
He said he had “beaten umpteen legal cases against him, most of them vexatious and all of them purely designed to keep him off the ballot”.
Mr Johnson added: “By dint of a phenomenal work ethic, and a refusal to give up, he has become only the second man in history to serve two nonconsecutive terms as president.
“In November he became the first Republican in 20 years to win the popular vote.
“Above all, he showed his mettle when he missed death by a millimetre, as a high-velocity bullet hit his ear at a rally in Pennsylvania.”
It comes as Mr Johnson has repeatedly refused to rule out a future return to frontline politics.
The charismatic ex-premier, who led the Tories to a landslide victory at the 2019 election, was pushed out of 10 Downing Street in 2022 following a series of scandals.
He quit as Uxbridge and Ruislip’s MP the year after following a “witch hunt” instigation into the Partygate row.
