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Joe Biden has started calling out world leaders, but Boris Johnson is prepared for an early snub from the president-elect.
Diplomatic sources acknowledged that the prime minister was unlikely to be “top of the list” for the man who described him last year as a “physical and emotional clone” of Donald Trump.
British diplomats believe that Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron and Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin are among the leaders likely to listen to Biden first as he rebuilds relations with the EU after years of hostility from Trump.
Joe Biden has started calling out world leaders, but Boris Johnson is prepared for an early snub from the president-elect.
A source said: ‘Look, we’re probably not at the top of the list for the first phone call. Are some people in government worried about that? Yes, but you can read too much. If they call us after Papua New Guinea, we should probably start to worry.
Biden, who has described himself as Irish, opposes Brexit. He has warned that a planned trade deal between the United States and the United Kingdom will be frozen if the consequences of Britain’s exit from the EU undermine the Northern Ireland peace process.
Yesterday, Johnson launched a concerted friendship offensive designed to win him over.
The prime minister said there were “many, many, many, many, many” issues where the two men have shared goals, including climate change, trade and security.
He said he believed there was still a “good chance” of a trade deal with the United States.
The prime minister is said to be considering the offer of an early state visit to Biden as soon as the pandemic makes it practical.
Yesterday, Johnson launched a concerted friendship offensive designed to win him over. The prime minister said there were “many, many, many, many, many” issues where the two men have shared goals, including climate change, trade and security.
Congratulating him and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, he added: ‘The United States is our closest and most important ally. And that has been the case with president after president, prime minister after prime minister. It will not change.
“And I look forward to working with President Biden on many crucial things.”
When asked about Biden’s belief that he is a “clone” of Trump, Johnson said there was “much more to” bringing governments together “than dividing us.”
He added: ‘We have common values. We have common interests. We have a common global perspective. ‘
Some high-ranking Democrats still oppose Johnson’s 2016 claim that Barack Obama’s ‘partly Kenyan’ heritage had soured his attitude towards the UK.
Former Obama spokesman Tommy Vietor described Johnson as a “shapeshifting creep” over the weekend.
But Senator Chris Coons played down the discussion, saying Biden wouldn’t want to ‘re-litigate’ every previous comment.
Britain has been here before. We can build bridges
By Sir Christopher Meyer, Former Ambassador to the US, For the Daily Mail
Whenever an election in the United States produces a radical change in the president, anxiety, even panic, erupts in Downing Street about what it will mean for the relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States.
Meanwhile, almost like clockwork, the commentators compete to write grim obituaries for ‘Special Relationship’. And this time, after the election of Joe Biden, it is no different.
But for the love of God, everyone, calm down. We have been here before. In 2000, I was Britain’s ambassador to Washington when the outcome of the US presidential election between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore was at stake.
In the end, after a tense few weeks, the US Supreme Court ruled it in favor of Bush.
We have been here before. In 2000, I was Britain’s ambassador to Washington when the outcome of the US presidential election between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore was at stake.
Prime Minister Tony Blair’s New Labor Downing Street had followed the race closely and eagerly. They had a lot of eggs in Gore’s basket. Blair had developed a close personal and political relationship with the former Democratic president, Bill Clinton.
So New Labor hoped and prayed that Gore, who had been Clinton’s vice president, would pick up what Clinton had left off. It wasn’t going to be. Bush became president.
Yet despite this, and despite the fact that Blair and Clinton were much closer than Boris Johnson and President Trump, that did not prove to be a barrier to Blair developing an equally close relationship with Bush.
In fact, when I asked one of Bush’s closest advisers if Blair’s friendship with Clinton would be a problem for the new president, he replied, “By your works you will be known.”
Behind the typically Texan biblical style, there was a profound message: namely, that if our national interests coincided, all would be fine. That is what happened, and there is no reason to think that this time, things will be different.
Because ultimately, the notion that Johnson and Trump are politically united at the hip is rooted in a myth, one that appears to be based on Trump’s endorsement of Brexit and a free trade agreement with the UK.
After a long career in the United States Senate, he is well known to us and to a succession of British ambassadors.
However, this was never translated into anything concrete. Although trade talks began, Trump has been reluctant to stand up to those in his own country, especially the US agricultural lobby, who were insisting on terms we could never accept.
Meanwhile, in the rest of the world we have been constantly at odds with Trump’s worldview: his tepid support for NATO, his withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, and his withdrawal from the Paris Climate Agreement, to name just three.
He was certainly right to criticize the People’s Republic of China for its unfair business practices, its threats to national security, and its steadfast expansion of global influence.
But, as our Foreign Office never fails to say, this is a policy to be handled with care, not in the impulsive and unpredictable way that was a trademark of Trump’s foreign policy. On the other hand, the raw materials for a close working relationship with President Biden are all there.
After a long career in the United States Senate, he is well known to us and a succession of British ambassadors.
So are some of his closest foreign policy advisers who can expect top positions in his administration, such as President Obama’s national security adviser Susan Rice and his undersecretary of state Tony Blinken, whom I knew well about 20 years ago. years. .
Fundamentally, judging from Biden’s record in the Senate, it is quite clear that his position on international issues almost exactly coincides with British foreign policy priorities.
It will take a firm line with Russia and China. Supports international cooperation.
It will also re-establish relationships with America’s traditional friends and allies in NATO and the European Union, most of whom have been neglected or insulted by Trump.
Even when we are outside the EU, it will be in an important British interest that Europe and America enjoy the closest relations.
Therefore, we must not fall into the trap of thinking that this is a zero-sum game. For example, it doesn’t give a damn if Biden gets to London first before any other European capital.
Because ultimately, the notion that Johnson and Trump are politically united at the hip is rooted in a myth, one that appears to be based on Trump’s endorsement of Brexit and a free trade agreement with the UK.
In any event, he will come to the UK twice next year for the G7 summit and the Paris Climate Agreement meeting.
Of course, we still have a lot of work to do to explain Brexit to our American friends, who for decades have supported the idea of European unity without always fully understanding what it entails.
But after all, the United States is second to none in respecting its national sovereignty, which is why it is not a member of the International Criminal Court.
You should therefore have a good understanding of the British people’s democratic decision in 2016 to repatriate sovereignty from Brussels.
As for Northern Ireland, it is necessary to explain more urgently and insistently that the British Government will do nothing to damage the Good Friday Agreement.
It is in our interest, above all others, that there be peace, not violence, in our own nation.
We must never forget that in many areas, from defense and intelligence cooperation to mutual investment, British-American relations have, for decades, been extraordinarily close.
There is absolutely no reason why this should not continue under President Biden. Obviously, it is in the national interest of our two countries.
