CNN tries to get Boris Johnson to bash the US — but he refuses to take the bait: 'A shining city on a hill'

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson refused to bash the United States on Sunday when asked if he is "worried" about a decline of democracy in America.

What happened?

Speaking with CNN anchor Jake Tapper on "State of the Union," Tapper claimed his international friends are voicing concern that American democracy is eroding. Johnson promptly dismissed such concerns.

"When I talk to friends in Canada, the U.K., Australia, and elsewhere, people express concern about the United States— in terms of our ability and our institutions to thrive and continue after what happened with the election of 2020," Tapper began. "They’re worried that democracy is on life support in the United States."

"Are you worried at all?" Tapper asked.

"No!" Johnson immediately responded.

"You're not?" Tapper followed up.

"I want to say this to the people of the United States: I'm not," Johnson confirmed.

"I guess get back to what I have been trying to say to you throughout this interview, I think that reports of the death of democracy in the United States are grossly, grossly exaggerated. America is a shining city on a hill," Johnson explained. "And it will continue to be so."

When Tapper pressed Johnson further about the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, Johnson admitted it was "pretty weird" but refused to criticize America.

"Looking from the outside, it was pretty weird," Johnson said. "But I don't believe that American democracy is under serious threat, far from it. I continue to believe that America is the greatest global guarantor of democracy and freedom."

Anything else?

Earlier in the interview, however, Johnson reaffirmed his declaration that America took a "big step backwards" when the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Johnson described the high court ruling as "important psychologically for people around the world," but he denied that it diminishes the U.S. as the global symbol of freedom.

"The United States for me, it remains a shining city on the hill," Johnson said. "And it's an incredible guarantor of values, democracy, freedom around the world."