Personalities trump politics in Britain’s future with US under Joe Biden

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British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s closeness to US President Donald Trump is seen as an obstacle to relations with the incoming Biden administration. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 5:18pm, 9 Nov 2020Updated: 10:52pm, 9 Nov 2020

Joe Biden’s victory in the US presidential election on Saturday has left Britain isolated in the West while grappling with its own future relationship with Washington.

The quagmire is less about politics than personalities. A year ago, when Boris Johnson was elected prime minister, Biden’s first reaction was this: “You’re also going to see people saying, ‘My God, Boris Johnson, who is kind of a physical and emotional clone of the president, is able to win.’”

That president, of course, was Donald Trump, beaten last week by Biden in the first defeat for a sitting president seeking re-election since 1992.

Johnson’s comment on the victory of his one-time critic was more diplomatic. “The US is our important ally and I look forward to working closely together on our shared priorities, from climate change to trade and security.”

On Sunday, Johnson sought to reassure Washington that he would work with the new administration closely, focusing on climate change as an issue where a Biden presidency would see eye to eye with Britain, which is slated to host a key United Nations conference on climate change next year. Biden has said he will sign an executive order to rejoin the Paris climate accord as soon as he takes office.

“The United States is our closest and most important ally, and that has been the case president after president, prime minister after prime minister – it won’t change,” Johnson said on the BBC. “I think there is far more that unites the government of this country and governments in Washington at any time and any stage than divides us.