Interviewer: Can you give an example, in your political life, when you've set your own self-interest aside for the benefit of the country?
Boris Johnson: Well, er, pfft, um, it's a good question, but er, I, I, I would, you know, I don't, obviously, it's an embarrassing but, but true that, um, er, it is obviously, possible, er, how should I put this, to make more money, er, by not being a full-time politician. Um, I don't, I don't want to put too finer point on it, er, but, you know, you have to, you have to, you have to, make sacrifices sometimes." - Meaning and context.">
Conservative Leadership Contest Hustings in Darlington, Channel 4 News/Twitter (5 July 2019)

Interviewer: Can you give an example, in your political life, when you've set your own self-interest aside for the benefit of the country?
Boris Johnson: Well, er, pfft, um, it's a good question, but er, I, I, I would, you know, I don't, obviously, it's an embarrassing but, but true that, um, er, it is obviously, possible, er, how should I put this, to make more money, er, by not being a full-time politician. Um, I don't, I don't want to put too finer point on it, er, but, you know, you have to, you have to, you have to, make sacrifices sometimes.

— Boris Johnson

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "Interviewer: Can you give an example, in your political life, when you've set your own self-interest aside for the benefit of the country?
Boris Johnson: Well, er, pfft, um, it's a good question, but er, I, I, I would, you know, I don't, obviously, it's an embarrassing but, but true that, um, er, it is obviously, possible, er, how should I put this, to make more money, er, by not being a full-time politician. Um, I don't, I don't want to put too finer point on it, er, but, you know, you have to, you have to, you have to, make sacrifices sometimes." in the context of "Conservative Leadership Contest Hustings in Darlington, Channel 4 News/Twitter (5 July 2019)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.

Source: Wikiquote: "Boris Johnson" (Quotes, 2010s, 2019) The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
Boris Johnson

About Boris Johnson

Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, journalist, and popular historian. He was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from July 2019 until September 2022.