London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, May 11, 2025

Joe Biden's blink and you'll miss it visit to Northern Ireland

Joe Biden's blink and you'll miss it visit to Northern Ireland

For the best part of a year at least, the prospect of this presidential visit has been discussed among diplomats.
Washington's deep pride, seeing itself as a midwife to the 1998 Belfast Good Friday Agreement, ensured this date was pencilled in to the White House diary - and those of British and American diplomats - long ago.

But amid the reminiscing about 1998, the politics of 2023 swirls; stirring a loose idea into an actual visit and then moulding its scale, or lack of it.

The prime minister's diplomatic triumph in re-casting the Brexit deal for Northern Ireland has not - yet at least - delivered its most sought after domestic prize - the restoration of power-sharing devolved government in Belfast, that cornerstone of the peace deal 25 years ago.

The Democratic Unionist Party are not happy with what is known as the Windsor Framework and are not willing to go back to the Northern Ireland Assembly at Stormont - and so there can be no moment with a grandiose backdrop and smiles of success.

And so an awkward, if frequent political impasse here hangs over this blink and you'll miss it visit from both the president and prime minister.

Because yes, after months of diplomatic chatter about it, it doesn't actually add up to much.

There has been a smidgen of tension between the White House and Downing Street about the timetabling of the leaders' itineraries which probably hasn't helped.

It would have been odd if President Biden had come here and not been met by the prime minister.

But we won't see very much of them together beyond a handshake at the airport and a meeting on Wednesday morning.

Rishi Sunak won't be at President Biden's speech.

And the president will be in Northern Ireland for only around 15 hours, for around half of which he'll be in bed.

After that, Joe Biden's much talked about Irish heritage will draw him to the Republic.

A mix of family history and made-for-television imagery the year before a presidential election.

As my colleague Sarah Smith writes here, with 30 million Americans claiming Irish roots, the personal and the political will overlap for him rather neatly in the next few days.

For the prime minister, it'll be straight back to London on Wednesday afternoon.

He won't meet Northern Ireland's political parties.

The rationale of those around Mr Sunak is that overt cajoling of the DUP now could prove counter-productive.

No 10 is seeking to emphasise a more prominent role for the prime minister at Good Friday Agreement commemorations here next week.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump's Upcoming Visit to Gulf Nations: Investment and Security at the Forefront
Rodrigo Duterte Awaits Trial at The Hague. Next week he might be elected mayor of his hometown
Trump fires director of U.S. Copyright Office, sources say
Retired British police officer arrested over ‘thought crime’ tweet
Cardinal Robert Prevost Elected as Pope Leo XIV, Marking a Historic Papacy
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka Arrested at ICE Facility Amid Congressional Visit
India-Pakistan conflict may be first test for Chinese military tech
Bill Gates Announces Plan to Wind Down Philanthropic Foundation and Disperse Wealth
Historic Papal Conclave Set to Commence in Rome
Huge Copper, Gold, and Silver Discovery in Argentina and Chile — But the Profits Go Abroad
Prince Harry is pleading for reconciliation — but the royals are just as sick of his victimhood as everyone else
The Road to Freedom: She Protested Putin, Escaped House Arrest, and Survived a 2,800-Kilometer Journey
OpenAI's Flip-Flop: No Longer Going Commercial, Back to Nonprofit, After Musk Lawsuit and Backlash
“Trump Supporter” Aims to Bring a MAGA-Style Shift to Romania
First From China: Zhao Xintong Wins the Snooker World Championship
Nvidia Faces Billion-Dollar Losses – Warns: China Is on Its Way to Becoming an AI Superpower
Trump Rules Out Third Term, Names JD Vance and Marco Rubio as Potential Successors
Mexico Says ‘No’ to U.S. Troops: President Sheinbaum Rejects Trump’s Offer to Fight Cartels
Nigel Farage’s Reform UK Storms the Map, Wrecking the Two-Party Monopoly
DOGE: Reimagining Government Operations with AI
Common Sense Returns to Britain's Legal System: UK Supreme Court Declares a Woman Is… a Woman
Beijing Says U.S. Is ‘Reaching Out’ for Tariff Talks Amid Soaring Trade Tensions
U.K. Court Rejects Prince Harry’s Final Appeal Over Police Security
Prince Harry’s Heartfelt Outburst Rocks the Royal Family
Trump Shares AI-Generated Image of Himself as… Pope, Prompting Outrage Reaction
Transgender Swimmer Secures Five Gold Medals at U.S. Masters Championship
Prince Harry: “I Want Reconciliation with My Family”
Germany's Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party has now been officially labeled “right-wing extremist” by the federal office for the so-called “protection of the constitution.”
Amazon Launches Satellite Internet Service Amidst Competition with SpaceX
Transformative Changes in Women's Wrestling: The Rise of WWE Superstars
The Rush to the White Gold: Global Investment Surge in Natural Hydrogen Exploration
This is a day in Spain without electricity and internet
Reform UK Surprises in British Elections, Challenging Traditional Two-Party System
180-Year-Old Christian University in South Carolina Announces Closure Due to Unmet $6 Million Fundraising Goal
Brazilian Woman Jailed for Fourteen Years for Writing “You Lost, Idiot” on Statue During Protest
Trump Administration Removes National Security Adviser Mike Waltz Amid Signal Chat Controversy
Dutch Politician Eva Vlaardingerbroek Receives Spyware Threat Alert from Apple
Paramount Board Considers Settlement in Trump’s $20 Billion Lawsuit Over "60 Minutes" Interview
U.S. Economy Shrink in Trump’s First Quarter as Tariff Policy Raises Questions
Deadline Looms for RTS Meter Replacement: Hundreds of Thousands at Risk of Heating Disruption
Sweden Grapples with Deadly Gun Violence: Suspect Arrested After Three Young Men Killed in Uppsala Hair Salon
Walz Reveals Why Harris Chose Him as Her Running Mate and Reflects on Democratic Losses
Spain Restores Power After Unprecedented Nationwide Blackout
Carney Secures Liberal Mandate in Canada’s Federal Election
Death Penalty Sought as Luigi Manion Pleads Not Guilty in CEO Murder Case
President Trump contacts Jeff Bezos after reports of Amazon considering listing tariff surcharges; company clarifies no such plan for main platform
Spain and Portugal Recover from Massive Blackout
Liverpool Clinches Record-Equalling 20th English League Title Under Arne Slot
Singapore Politicians Warn Against Foreign Interference in Election
Driver Ploughs into Vancouver Festival Crowd, Killing Nine
×