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For a moment, you almost wouldn’t have known the two leaders sitting side-by-side in the Oval Office on Wednesday were carrying the weight of their separate political challenges.
President Joe Biden and Britain’s new prime minister, Keir Starmer, chatted about England’s soccer victory over the Netherlands in the Euro 2024 tournament, with Biden joking that the win was “all because of the prime minister.” The president said he felt really “optimistic” about the NATO alliance and called the United Kingdom and the United States the “best of allies.” And Starmer appeared comfortable in his new post, telling journalists gathered in the room at the top of the mostly private meeting that their countries’ “special relationship” is “so important.”
The goal of the much-anticipated first formal session between the two leaders — held on the sidelines of the NATO Summit — appeared to be showing the steadiness of U.S.-British relations as Biden fights for his political future and Starmer faces a demanding electorate.
Biden is being dogged by questions about his health and ability to lead after a halting debate showing in June. As a result, the president’s performance at the summit is being closely watched, as he tries to prove to U.S. lawmakers and NATO allies that, at 81, he’s up to the task of four more years in office.
As reporters were ushered out of the Oval Office on Wednesday, they shouted questions about actor George Clooney calling for the president to step down — the latest in a drumbeat of top liberals and Democratic lawmakers publicly doubt his ability to win reelection. Biden smiled and mostly ignored the questions about Clooney, before saying: “AFL-CIO. Go, go, go,” in what appeared to be a reference to his friendly stop at the union headquarters earlier in the day.
Starmer, for his part, is facing a country impatient to see improvement in the U.K.’s economy, social services and global standing — an electorate that gave his Labour Party an overwhelming win over the U.K.’s Conservatives just days ago, ending the latter’s 14-year rule. That era included Britain’s exit from the European Union.
While domestic problems are a key focus for Starmer, he has signaled relative continuity on Britain’s foreign policy, including support for Ukraine as it battles Russia and staying close to the U.S.
One area of difference between Labour and the Conservatives is Starmer’s position on the EU.
The new prime minister wants a closer U.K.-EU relationship on security and to renegotiate parts of former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s post-Brexit trade deal.
Biden appeared to back Starmer’s plans to bring Britain closer to the EU post-Brexit.
“I kind of see you guys as the knot tying the transatlantic alliance together, the closer you are with Europe,” Biden said. “We know where you are. You know where we are.”
Of course, it may not be Biden that Starmer has to deal with come January. Former U.S. President Donald Trump, Biden’s main opponent in the upcoming election, was a booster of the Brexit effort, even though his relations with Britain’s Conservatives weren’t always smooth.
David Lammy, the new U.K. foreign secretary, has in the past criticized Trump in harsh terms. But more recently Lammy has tried to build ties with Republicans close to the Republican. (Lammy saw Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier Wednesday.)
British officials under Starmer point out that it’s standard for foreign governments to establish connections with political factions of all stripes in the United States. They’ve also publicly downplayed worries about Biden’s physical frailty.
“No, we have no concerns,” a senior British official said this week when asked about Biden’s health. The official noted that Biden and Starmer had had a good call after the latter obtained his new post.
Biden was set to host Starmer and other NATO leaders for a dinner Wednesday. He plans to hold very few bilateral meetings this week; one with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
