Boris Johnson denies his close ties to Donald Trump will hurt UK-U.S relations once Joe Biden takes office

Boris Johnson meets Donald Trump for talks during the G7 summit in France in August
REUTERS
Luke O'Reilly8 November 2020

Boris Johnson has denied that his close ties to President Donald Trump would hurt UK-US relations once President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

Mr Biden has previously commented that the Prime Minister was "kind of a physical and emotional clone" of Mr Trump. 

There is also said to be bad blood between the pair after Mr Johnson commented that Barack Obama, a close friend of Mr Biden after he served under him as vice-president, had an "ancestral dislike of the British empire" due to his "part-Kenyan" heritage.

Despite this, the Prime Minister is expected to get in touch with the US President-elect “shortly”, according to Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab.

Backlash: Boris Johnson's move to suspend Parliament has been described as a "constitutional outrage"
AFP/Getty Images

The president-elect, who has Irish roots, has in the past warned that there will be no US trade deal for Britain if Brexit-related legislation planned by the UK's Government undermines Northern Ireland's 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

Mr Johnson's Internal Market Bill, if passed, would override part of the legally binding UK-EU Brexit withdrawal agreement that deals with Northern Ireland.

However, in an interview with Associated Press, the Prime Minister struck a positive note, saying that Britain and the United States will work together to support democracy and combat climate change.

Mr Johnson, who has yet to speak to the president-elect, said the two countries' "common global perspective" would be vital to shore up a rules-based global order that is under threat.

"The United States is our closest and most important ally," said Johnson. "And that's been the case under president after president, prime minister after prime minister. It won't change."

Mr Johnson said that he looked forward to "working with President Biden and his team on a lot of crucial stuff for us in the weeks and months ahead: tackling climate change, trade, international security, many, many, many, many, many other issues."

US Presidential candidate Joe Biden's ancestral home in Ireland
PA

He stressed his commitment to internationalism, particularly in the fight against climate change, an issue where he and Mr Biden share a common view. While Mr Trump has dismissed the threats posed by a changing climate and pulled the US out of the 2015 Paris climate accord — a decision Mr Biden says he will reverse — the Prime Minister has committed the UK to reducing its carbon emissions to net zero by 2050.

The UK is also due to host the COP26 global climate summit in 2021, a year later than planned due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"I think now with President Biden in the White House in Washington, we have the real prospect of American global leadership in tackling climate change," said Mr Johnson.

The Prime Minister also emphasised the two nations' commonalities.

"There is far more that unites the government of this country and government in Washington any time, any stage, than divides us," he said.

"We have common values. We have common interests. We have a common global perspective. There's a huge amount of work we need to do together to protect those values: a belief in democracy, in free speech around the world, in human rights, in free trade, in the rules-based international order," he said.

Mr Johnson shrugged off suggestions that Mr Biden's victory would scupper chances of a UK-US trade deal
Getty Images

Mr Johnson shrugged off suggestions that Mr Biden's victory would scupper chances of a UK-US trade deal, and make it more urgent for Britain to secure a post-Brexit free trade deal with the 27-nation EU.

Britain had been hoping to secure a quick trade agreement with the U.S. after its official departure from the EU in January. The change in administration in Washington leaves prospects of a deal uncertain and could raise pressure on Johnson to seal agreement with the EU before the U.K. makes an economic split from the bloc at the end of this year.

Post-Brexit trade talks are due to resume Monday, with the deadline imposed by the two sides just days away.

"I've always been a great enthusiast for a trade deal with our European friends and partners," said Mr Johnson, who has repeatedly said he is prepared to walk away from the Brexit trade talks without an agreement. "I think it's there to be done. The broad outlines are pretty clear. We just need to get them to do it if we can."

Mr Johnson said he still hoped to get a U.S. trade deal but knew the Americans would be "tough negotiators."

"I've never believed that this was going to be something that was going to be a complete pushover under any U.S. administration," Johnson said, adding "I think there's a good chance we'll do something."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in