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Britain has never had great love for Donald Trump. His approval ratings among the public here rarely exceeded 25 percent.
But one thing everyone knew was that he was a great friend to the UK. Even if that feeling was never reciprocated.
And while opinion polls suggest that the British public will be more comfortable with the Democratic alternative (as they always do), they must know one thing above all: Joe Biden and his party are not friends of this country. We could still mourn the day Donald Trump leaves the White House.
Joe Biden and the Democratic high command hate Brexit in Britain. They believe that the Brexit movement had something to do with the election of Donald Trump, acting as a kind of precursor. Instinctively they connect the two
The utter madness of this country’s attitude must be explained, and now more than ever.
Four years ago, the British people took a big, bold leap by voting to leave the European Union. Since then, this country has struggled to get out, but we’re finally out.
It is exactly at that moment, when alliances are changing and new trade agreements are required, that the oldest and closest friends must step up their efforts.
To a large extent they have. Our allies in Australia, for example, have not only been pushing for a better business relationship, they have even sent a former Prime Minister, Tony Abbott, to assist us as an unpaid trade envoy.
But the biggest prize is the much-needed trade agreement with the United States. The United States is this country’s largest export market and our second-largest import market. After our departure from the EU, it is no exaggeration to say that this relationship is crucial.
And Donald Trump was on our side. He made it clear from day one that he was in favor of a great trade deal with Britain that would enrich both parties. The goodwill was there, and from the moment the negotiations started, they did.
Led by envoy Robert Lighthizer, Trump’s seasoned business team has been deeply friendly to the UK. They stressed from the beginning that the US would seek a generous deal with the UK.
As well as Biden’s inevitable decision to bring the United States back to the Iran nuclear deal, it will allow Iran to restart its arms purchases from Russia and China, without being challenged by anyone, including this country.
Of course, some public figures here did their best to try to poison that relationship. The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, for example, was so determined to insult our most important business partner that, while mayor of our capital city, he tried to rise on the international stage by repeatedly insulting the American president. The then Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, did the same.
This is not a normal situation. Yet Trump’s negotiating team overcame such pettiness. Throughout this year they have worked constructively to reach a speedy conclusion.
As one of the parties in the negotiations recently told me, although an agreement was never likely to be reached before the elections, it was certainly not due to a lack of goodwill, but simply to the amount of formalities that need to be agreed upon before any A deal of such a size can be completed.
Then the Americans were ready to go. This country would have benefited enormously, in jobs and much more.
But unless President Trump can somehow push through a deal before he leaves office in January, there is something the British public should know. The situation with Trump’s successor will be very different.
Joe Biden and the Democratic high command hate Brexit in Britain. They believe that the Brexit movement had something to do with the election of Donald Trump, acting as a kind of precursor. They instinctively connect the two.
And they also have a dismissive, furious and deeply anti-British attitude in everything that has to do with our future relationship.
In their extraordinary ignorance, Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Joe Biden seem to believe that Britain’s exit from the EU risks undoing the Good Friday Peace Agreement on the island of Ireland.
In fact, it shows that they have not spent time thinking about Northern Ireland or studying the details of the EU withdrawal agreement.
But pushed by their own party supporters, Pelosi and Biden have been persuaded to accept this nonsense, and the effect could be enormously destructive to both our friendship with the United States and our prosperity.
The problem is summarized in a letter sent to Boris Johnson two months ago. It was signed by several American congressmen, including some who had openly supported the IRA during the height of the unrest. This included the IRA’s terrible supporter of terrorism, Congressman Peter King.
The letter claimed that any Free Trade Agreement with the United States and the Good Friday Agreement are “inextricably linked” and that a no-deal Brexit would put the Good Friday Agreement at risk.
Democrat Pelosi was eager to accept this claim, poisonous as it was. At a press conference two months ago, she spoke about Brexit in Britain with such annoyance that she could be seen trying to keep her teeth in her mouth.
If Britain thought we could leave the EU without a deal and put the Good Friday Agreement “at risk”, the UK could forget about a trade deal with the US, he spat.
There was “absolutely no chance” for a trade deal between the United States and the United Kingdom, he said, as long as the Democrats had a say. For his part, Joe Biden, or whoever manages his Twitter account, was happy to repeat this statement, even retweeting the threatening letter from the pro-IRA congressmen.
Mr Biden is proud of his own Irish roots, and a photograph that appeared yesterday gives you an idea of where his sympathies lie.
The problem is summarized in a letter sent to Boris Johnson two months ago. It was signed by several American congressmen, including some who had openly supported the IRA during the height of the unrest. This included the IRA’s terrible supporter of terrorism, Congressman Peter King.
Taken three years ago, it shows Biden, beaming with delight, alongside former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams and his arm around former fugitive Rita O’Hare. She had been arrested in 1972 after the attempted murder of a British Army officer in Belfast, but bail was skipped and ended up in the United States.
So people in Britain should know that this country is now in a very dire situation. We have left the EU by popular consent to face a no-deal exit. That’s okay, and it makes sense. But it is not good at all if, as a consequence, we are simultaneously punished by an unsympathetic and anti-British America led by Democrats.
And I don’t mind saying I’m worried.
Pro-EU activists in the UK, like Sadiq Khan, will be delighted, of course.
They have always wanted to punish the British people for voting the ‘wrong’ way in 2016 and are desperate for everyone to learn the lesson ‘the hard way’ that they were right all along. Nothing could be more ignorant or wrong.
The Trump administration had many flaws. But it also had many virtues. Trump himself has been the only prominent politician in the world to challenge the terrible corruption of the Chinese Communist Party and the undermining of world trade. In the absence of Trump, China’s rise will not be affected.
As well as Biden’s inevitable decision to bring the United States back into the nuclear deal with Iran, he will see Iran able to restart its arms purchases from Russia and China, without being challenged by anyone, including this country.
It is a tradition that Republican presidents are looked down upon in the UK. This was the case with Ronald Reagan, George Bush and many others.
Yes, Trump made it easier than most. But for all his flaws, the president has been a true supporter of this country.
He wanted the Brexit of Britain and America to work well together and prosper together.
Much of the British public will be glad that Trump is leaving the White House. But his departure will be a bad day. We will have lost a friend. At a time when we needed friends the most.
