The US President thinks nothing of lecturing the government on Northern Ireland policy, and has shown contempt for the Special Relationship.
President Biden’s insulting decision to prioritise Ireland over the UK on his visit to mark the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement should have come as no surprise. It is just as unsurprising as his decision to skip the coronation of King Charles III. Biden, like Barack Obama before him, has shown nothing but contempt for Great Britain and the Special Relationship.
Biden began his presidency in 2021 by removing a bust of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office. Sculpted by Jacob Epstein, it had originally been loaned to the American people by then Prime Minister Tony Blair, in the wake of the barbaric 9/11 terror attacks on the United States. It had pride of place in George W Bush’s White House, but was ousted by Obama when he took office in 2009. Donald Trump brought it back at the start of his presidency in 2017, but Biden saw fit to remove it as soon as he entered the White House.
Biden’s insult towards Churchill and his memory set the tone for his presidency. His approach towards Britain, traditionally America’s closest friend and ally, has been sneering, arrogant and disrespectful. With deep roots in Ireland, Biden’s track record as a US Senator and Washington politician for half a century has been one of unyielding support for the Irish Republican cause. As recently as 2017 he was photographed with Gerry Adams and erstwhile IRA fugitive Rita O’Hare.
As Vice President in 2015, Biden quipped that no one wearing orange (the colour of British Unionists in Northern Ireland) would be welcome in the White House, while meeting the then Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny, sparking outrage. No wonder he has had little success in coaxing the Unionists back into Northern Ireland power-sharing.