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With the winner of the November 3 US presidential election increasingly likely to be Joseph Robinette Biden, it is natural that the British government is increasingly obsessed with what this would mean for the Anglo-American relationship, particularly at the highest level. level.
The relationship between Biden and Boris Johnson will almost certainly not be as close as that between the prime minister and President Trump. Donald has often spoken with admiration of Johnson (always referring to him as ‘Boris’) and has given him his personal mobile number, on which they speak regularly.
That was definitely not the case when Theresa May was PM. Although, as a former US government official said to a British journalist: ‘Yes you If he had become British Prime Minister, he probably would have given her his personal mobile number as well, just because he was so relieved that he would never be dealing with Theresa May again.
A lot of this has to do with Brexit. Trump was always a supporter, so Johnson’s leadership in that campaign – and the fact that he was a ‘winner’ – made him one of the good guys. But it goes beyond that.
As the winner of the November 3 US presidential election is increasingly likely to be Joseph Robinette Biden (pictured), it is only natural that the British government is increasingly obsessed with what this would mean for the Anglo-American relationship, particularly at the highest level, writes DOMINIC LAWSON
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Trump, whose mother was born in the UK and has significant Scottish investments (in the form of the Turnberry golf resort), is a visceral Anglophile. This is very unusual for an American president: in fact, I cannot think of a previous one of whom that could be said.
It was not even true in the case of Ronald Reagan, although he developed a close political and personal bond with Margaret Thatcher. Reagan, in fact, had Irish family roots: his great-grandfather emigrated from Ballyporeen.
And it is Joe Biden’s passionate identification as an Irish-American (although it is only on his mother’s side, as his father’s family hails from the English county of Sussex) that leads many to claim that he is’ anti- British’.
That came to the fore when Johnson announced an ‘internal market bill’ threatening to abandon certain provisions of the EU withdrawal agreement in relation to Northern Ireland. Biden disturbingly tweeted: ‘Any trade deal between the US and the UK must depend on respecting the Good Friday deal and preventing the return of a hard border. Period.’
Yet Biden is certainly not anti-British in the way that, for example, Republican Congressman Peter King is.
King, the great-nephew of an IRA member, said in 1982 at a pro-IRA rally in his Long Island backyard: ‘We must pledge to support those brave men and women who … are carrying out the fight against imperialism Briton on the streets of Belfast and Derry ‘
The relationship between Joe Biden and Boris Johnson will almost certainly not be as close as that between the prime minister (right) and President Trump (left), writes DOMINIC LAWSON.
It was in that same year that Joe Biden, then a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee of the United States, proved to be one of the staunch supporters of the British in the Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands. He was the sponsor of a resolution demanding that Washington side with Great Britain.
At the time, President Reagan was taking a posture of studied neutrality, as was his secretary of state, Alexander Haig. And Reagan’s ambassador to the UN, Jeane Kirkpatrick, one of the president’s favorites, was strongly in favor of Buenos Aires on the matter.
On the very night of the invasion, Kirkpatrick showed his sympathy by attending a dinner in his honor hosted by the Argentine ambassador. He later declared that his action “was not a military aggression.”
Reagan and Haig, in fact, succeeded in forcing Margaret Thatcher to sign a “compromise peace plan” which, to their amazement, General Galtieri did not accept. So the Task Force continued sailing and seized the islands. The Reagan Library, 20 years later, published a memorandum from Haig to the president, acknowledging that “our proposals, in fact, are a disguised transfer of sovereignty, and the Argentine foreign minister knows it, but the board will not accept it.”
But Senator Biden, in a television interview at the time, stated: ‘My resolution demands that the United States indicate which side we are on: the British side. Argentines must be disabused of this notion that the United States is neutral on this matter. It is clear that Argentina is the aggressor. It is clear that Britain is right and it should be clear to the whole world what the position of the United States is. “
When asked by his interviewer if this might not lose the good opinions of the Organization of American States, which had passed a resolution in support of Argentina, Biden replied: “We lose much more by not supporting our oldest and closest ally.”
At the time of Argentina’s invasion of the Falkland Islands, President Reagan was adopting a posture of studied neutrality, as was his Secretary of State, Alexander Haig (left). And Reagan’s ambassador to the UN, Jeane Kirkpatrick (right), one of the president’s favorites, was adamantly pro-Buenos Aires on the issue, writes DOMINIC LAWSON.
Remembered
When Lady Thatcher died, Biden went to the British embassy in Washington to sign the book of condolences. Speaking with our then ambassador, Sir Peter Westmacott, Biden warmly recalled the events of 1982 and Thatcher’s appearance before his committee (“She was very, very persuasive, very effective, quite a lady”).
This, perhaps, is why Sir Peter recently pointed out to the New York Times that Biden “is instinctively comfortable with the British.”
However, as he also noted: “ You won’t miss out on Biden that the last two British PMs went out of their way to be nice to Trump. ”
It’s also true that Biden has none of Trump’s frequent wishes to rush a free trade deal with the UK. But there may be a back door to something like that, which could never happen with Trump.
Biden has indicated that he could restore President Obama’s plans for the United States to join the Pacific free trade area, known as the Comprehensive Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). And, under the leadership of International Trade Secretary Liz Truss, the UK has already started discussions with existing CPTPP members, ahead of a formal UK request to join.
Therefore, a bespoke US-UK trade agreement may not be necessary.
Sure, Joe Biden will never be a Brexit fan (he has said so himself). But the idea that he is anti-British is simply not justified by his track record.
MY WIFE MAKES A PROFIT IN OUR SEASONAL BATTLE
Across Europe, those who like to enjoy the weather both indoors and outdoors have found an unlikely ally in the form of coronavirus policy.
To be specific, governments have stated that since the virus seems to thrive most indoors, we must do everything possible to allow fresh air to circulate, however cold it may be.
In Germany, schools have been asked to open all windows and children have been instructed to dress accordingly, wearing their coats in the classroom if necessary.
Here, train operators have been told to open windows and doors (when possible). The message for travelers is: drafts are good for your health.
Governments have stated that since the virus seems to thrive most in closed environments, we must do everything possible to allow fresh air to circulate, however cold it may be, writes DOMINIC LAWSON.
This campaign has turned the seasonal battle in our house against me. Like many households, ours has long been divided by opposing views on this issue.
My wife, even in winter, likes that the windows are open. Meanwhile, I prefer the home environment to be warm and welcoming.
To my wife’s inevitable complaint that “it’s horribly stuffy here,” I always replied that a lot of people freeze to death in winter, but no one has ever died from a bad smell. Now, unfortunately, you can answer that the medical consensus on the pathways of Covid infection has solved the problem in your favor.
Worse still, it has maintained its policy of not allowing central heating to turn on until November.
But at least that means that in a week I could stop wearing my scarf and gloves indoors.
