Johnson,” said Heather Conley, president of the German Marshall Fund of the United States, “but President Biden certainly does not support any efforts to jeopardize the Good Friday Agreement or approve of his brand of populism.” “It is hard to dislike the jovial and effusive Mr. Biden and Johnson signed a 21st-century version of the charter that included topics like climate change. Roosevelt and then-Prime Minister Winston Churchill, laid out a vision for the post-war world. The 1941 charter, released by then-President Franklin D. The person noted that both men appreciate history, and that they bonded in part as they looked at a copy of the original Atlantic Charter in their first face-to-face session as leaders of their governments. That’s especially true of military and intelligence cooperation, where the two countries are unusually close.īiden and Johnson are both “personable,” and “got on well” when they met, said a person familiar with the relationship. The system, run mainly by career civil servants, is designed to be largely shielded from such political vicissitudes. and British government-to-government relationship should be minor, former officials and analysts say. The day-to-day, or even long-term, impact of Johnson’s exit on the U.S. The two leaders also have been like-minded on the importance of battling climate change. into a defense pact with Australia that left out and angered America’s “oldest ally,” France. Still, Biden and Johnson managed to cooperate on other fronts, not the least of which is rallying support in Europe and beyond for Ukraine as it has fought against a brutal invasion. Johnson, meanwhile, cautiously chided Biden over the hasty and ultimately deadly U.S. more than ever now that it has left the EU. Post-Brexit Britain also has failed to convince the Biden team to grant it a bilateral trade deal, a deep frustration for a government in London that in some ways needs the U.S. The idea of Brexit was never popular in Biden circles, and the fallout from that break-up has led to lingering tension between Biden and Johnson over the impact on Northern Ireland and the Good Friday agreement that has kept the peace there. In fact, Biden described Johnson as “kind of a physical and emotional clone” of Trump, whose erratic and scandal-plagued term in the White House also did not unravel U.S.-U.K. He also likened former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to a “ sadistic nurse in a mental hospital.”Īnd, of course, Johnson had cozied up to Trump, who supported his campaign to pull Britain out of the European Union. The Oxford-educated Brit once questioned whether former President Barack Obama, Biden’s one-time boss, was inclined to dislike Britain’s imperial past because of his part-Kenyan heritage. The two men in the past had differences over both style and substance, and some of the damage was done long before Biden was president. were to have been more nosy about Britain’s internal political chaos, Johnson was unlikely to find much comfort from Biden. “That includes maintaining a strong and united approach to supporting the people of Ukraine as they defend themselves against Putin’s brutal war on their democracy, and holding Russia accountable for its actions.”Įven if the U.S. “I look forward to continuing our close cooperation with the government of the United Kingdom, as well as our allies and partners around the world, on a range of important priorities,” Biden said. In fact, in a statement after Johnson’s announcement Thursday, Biden did not mention his outgoing counterpart directly. presidents tend to avoid interfering in the domestic politics of allies, and the Biden administration has largely steered clear of commenting directly on the political peril that has engulfed Johnson in recent days. “Washington could use a steadier hand in London to help guide the transatlantic community amid Russia’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine, building competition with China, and high levels of inflation and economic dislocation.” “Johnson has lurched from one political crisis to the next,” pointed out Charles Kupchan, a former senior U.S. If the clamor surrounding Johnson’s myriad scandals fades and a more solid prime minister emerges, that could work to Washington’s benefit. officials are playing it cool even as the resignation has rattled the U.K.
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