Two years after Bernie Ecclestone apologised for saying he would “take a bullet” for his friend Vladimir Putin, Ecclestone has pledged his allegiance to another world leader: Donald Trump.
The ex-Formula 1 supremo has heaped the highest praise upon the US president, calling him “the best thing that could happen to the world”.
He is the latest star to speak out in praise of Trump, who won a second term in the White House after being re-elected in November.
According to Ecclestone, it’s Trump’s background in business that makes him fit for office.
Eccleston added that he is so impressed by Trump that he said “would have loved to have had him as a partner” in his used-car business when he was starting out in Bexleyheath in the 1960s.
“As I’ve said right from day one, he is a dealer. He puts it like this: ‘OK, you don’t want me to do this? Well, this is what I want you to do. So, let’s do a deal. I’ll back off a little, but you have to wake up.’ He’s a good dealer.”
The 94-year-old told The Telegraph that Trump is “running the country like a company” and expressed the belief that he is “trying to look after… people who work there”.
“Forget the word, ‘President’ – he’s the chief executive of USA Limited,” he said.
Ecclestone’s respect for Trump generated from frustration after a run-in with the tycoon while he attempted to launch the Grand Prix of America in 2011.
The future president demanded to have his name put on everything – something Eccleston didn’t want. “I eventually said to him, ‘Do you know what? The only thing you haven’t asked to have your name on is toilet paper.’”
The Grand Prix of America, which was first announced in 2011, never came to fruition, but it would have seen the race start in New Jersey and end in New York.
In 2022, Ecclestone generated backlash after he defended Putin in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. When asked whether he still stood by his friend Mr Putin, the 91 year-old said: “I would still take a bullet for him. I’d rather it didn’t hurt, but I would still take a bullet.”
He also said Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was “not intentional” and implied the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, could have done more to avoid the war.
While apologising for his comments, Eccleston told Sky Sports: “Often people, I think, come out and say things or do things without really too much thinking. Probably I did the same, and I can understand people thinking I’m defending what he’s done in Ukraine, which I don’t.
“I was brought up during the war, the last war, so I know what it’s like. And I feel sorry for the people in Ukraine having to suffer for something they haven’t done. They’ve done nothing wrong. They didn’t start anything. They want to get on with their lives.
