DUP calls Biden anti-British, White House denies

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Bloomberg
12 Apr 2023 22:58

US President Joe Biden visits Belfast in Northern Ireland and meets with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak after Democratic Unionist Party said Biden "hates the UK."

US President Joe Biden reacts as he meets with Britain's Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Belfast on April 12, 2023 (Reuters)

The White House stressed that US President Joe Biden is not anti-British as he visited Belfast and met with UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. The visit, the White House noted, sought to reaffirm support for the Good Friday Agreement, which remained intact for 25 years now, as well as urge the restoration of the power-sharing system in Northern Ireland.

Significantly, this system had collapsed following a protest by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) which was triggered by post-Brexit rules.

Biden, while in Belfast hotel where he was bombarded by reporters, said he was there to "listen" to Sunak as they sipped on a cup of tea. One reporter questioned why Biden hasn't discussed any trade deals while on a visit to the UK.

However, the US President deflected only to comment on the "heck of a view" from the Grand Central Hotel.

Senior DUP figures had reportedly criticized Biden for being "anti-British". For example, MP Sammy Wilson contended that the US President "has got a record of being pro-Republican, anti-Unionist, anti-British." In a similar vein, former First Minister Baroness Foster said Biden "hates the UK."

Amanda Sloat, senior director for Europe at the US National Security Council, rejected such claims by saying, "It's simply untrue - the fact that the president is going to be engaging for the third time in three months, and then again next month and then again in June, with the Prime Minister of the UK shows how close our co-operation is with the UK."

In a historical echo, Sloat also argued that Biden "is a very proud Irish-American" who has proved to be a "strong supporter" of US-UK bilateral relations that were "not only on a bilateral basis within NATO, the G7, on the UN Security Council, and we truly are working in lockstep with the British Government on all of the pressing global challenges that our countries are facing."

Significantly, the Senior Director also noted that prior to this visit, Biden has had "numerous calls and meeting with Prime Minister Johnson, and Prime Minister Truss as well."

Biden will not attend King's Coronation due to age: The Telegraph

US President Joe Biden will not be attending the King’s Coronation on May 6 since he is “too old”, according to The Telegraph.

The President, who is the oldest person to hold office in the United States, must plan his major events ahead of time. This is due to his age and health, which limit his participation in processions and events.

Biden is set to prioritize the G7 meeting in Japan next month over the ceremony at Buckingham Palace, the publication revealed.

Sources for The Telegraph said that “the guy is 80. They space out his big bursts of activity quite considerably.”

Biden is set to announce his intentions to run for a second term in office. A second face-off between Biden and Trump would consist of the two oldest inaugurated presidents in US history.

As pointed out by The Telegraph’s sources, Trump also had to be selective with the events he chose to attend, “They did that too with Trump, and he was younger. When Biden does something like the State of the Union, we didn’t see much from him in the following 48 hours. They don't like to push him around the world too much.”

If Biden wins re-election in 2024 and serves a second term, he will be 86 when his presidency ends.

Officials in London and Washington refused to interpret this as a snub to the British Royal Family, pointing to the fact that Biden attended the Queen's funeral in September.

However, at the service in Westminster Abbey, Biden sat behind European heads of State. Former US President Donald Trump seized the opportunity and took a punch at the current President when he posted a picture to his social media platform “Truth Social” with a caption that read, "If I were president, they wouldn’t have sat me back there - and our Country would be much different than it is right now!”