Freddy Gray Freddy Gray

A renewed special relationship

The new President has pledged to reward Britain for leaving the EU, and the signs are promising

issue 21 January 2017

Freddy Gray, Paul Wood and Kate Andrews discuss Trump’s arrival at the White House:


As president, Barack Obama was too cool for the special relationship. The romantic bond between the United States and Great Britain, which always makes Churchill fans go all soggy-eyed, left him cold. Obama was more interested in globalism, ‘pivoting’ to Asia and the European Union. Donald J. Trump is a very different creature. The new US President seems to cherish Great Britain, whereas the EU annoys him. Brexit is beautiful, he believes — and the EU is falling apart.

Trump may or may not know the name of the British Prime Minister but, as he told Michael Gove this week, he is determined to strike a free trade agreement with Britain ‘very quickly’. Trump deals in deals, and he wants to deal with us. As for Angela Merkel and the EU, they can either fall in with Trump’s new world order — or fall out with the world’s greatest superpower.

Comments

Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.

Already a subscriber? Log in