President Joe Biden made it clear he had no intention of interfering in Northern Ireland’s feverish politics on Wednesday, insisting his role was to listen during his brief visit to Belfast.
His trip is set to mark 25 years of peace in the province since the signing of the Belfast Good Friday Agreement.
But local political parties are deadlocked on returning to their power-sharing government, and pro-London unionists are wary of any perceived insult from Biden, fiercely proud of his Irish roots.
On Wednesday, the President was asked what he would say to political parties when he met their leaders later in the day.
“I will listen,” he said at a meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
President Joe Biden met Rishi Sunak on Wednesday morning during his 17-hour visit to Belfast and made it clear he would not get involved in local political disputes
Biden was seen stepping off Air Force One onto the tarmac at RAF Aldergrove airbase in County Antrim on Tuesday
Biden’s long history of “anti-British” views
There were fears that Joe Biden might anger unionists with references to his Irish origins during his visit to Belfast.
As vice-president, Mr Biden took a massive insult to Northern Ireland’s trade union community when he joked during a St Patrick’s Day event: “If you’re wearing orange you’re not welcome here.”
Northern Ireland’s primarily Protestant Unionist community associates with the color in celebration of William of Orange’s victory over Catholic forces at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.
As a Senator in 1985, he opposed facilitating the extradition of IRA fighters from the US to Britain, an opinion popular with Irish-Americans but not in Britain.
He has often spoken of his mother’s hatred of England, which was so intense that she once refused to use a bed Queen Elizabeth II had slept in.
In his memoir Promises to Keep, he recalls his English last name, Biden, with some embarrassment.
And he describes how his Irish-American aunt Gertie Finnegan once said to him: “Your father is not a bad man. He’s only English.”
In 2020, as President-elect, he threw a cheeky dig at UK national broadcaster when a BBC reporter yelled at him a question. “The BBC?” he said and walked on with a smile. ‘I am Irish.’
Hardline unionists had previously warned him not to get involved in Northern Ireland politics, saying it would be a bit like a Frenchman showing up in London and lecturing British leaders on how to run their affairs.
Amid all the hustle and bustle, Biden appeared relaxed when he met Sunak.
“Awesome view out there,” he remarked from the top floor of his downtown hotel.
The reason for Biden’s trip is to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Belfast Good Friday Agreement, which ended decades of sectarian and political violence known as “the Troubles”.
But it comes at an awkward time when the province’s power-sharing government is suspended amid political infighting.
Hardline unionists are boycotting the institution, which means it can’t sit.
White House officials have avoided any suggestion that Biden will attempt to pressure the holdouts.
And unionists have been quick to accuse Biden of anti-British sentiments.
As Ian Paisley Jr. of the Hardline Democratic Unionist Party told TalkTV: “Unfortunately, the poor bloke is quite prone to slip-ups,” adding: “It would be like having a Frenchman come up to you and tell you what you’re doing in England should .’
Officials were also forced to defend President Joe Biden’s trip to Ireland on Wednesday, insisting it was work – not just pleasure – and deflecting allegations that he was anti-British during his brief visit to Northern Ireland.
He was due to start his day by meeting British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak before welcoming five local party leaders, followed by a speech at Ulster University.
But questions about his stance on Britain and Ireland and who is paying for his son Hunter and sister Valerie to travel with him dominated a morning briefing.
Amanda Sloat, senior director for Europe at the National Security Council, was asked if the famous Irish-American president was anti-British, as pro-London union politicians have claimed.
“I think the President’s track record shows that he is not anti-British,” she said.
However, Biden has made anti-English jokes in the past and has frequently described his mother’s hostility towards Britain and its Crown.
Sloat reeled off examples of cooperation between the Biden administration and London.
“The UK remains one of our strongest and closest allies,” she said.
“And honestly it’s difficult to think of an issue in the world where we’re not working closely with the British and that’s why this morning the President wanted the opportunity to engage with Prime Minister Sunak to plan his day here to begin Belfast.”
Crowds gathered outside the Belfast city center hotel where Biden was staying on Wednesday
Police erected a steel ring around the downtown hotel where Biden was staying Tuesday night
Biden is spotted in his Beast armored car as he arrives in Belfast on Tuesday night
And with just 17 hours in Belfast before embarking on a genealogy tour of Ireland, Sloat was asked if the visit was really a taxpayer-funded family reunion.
“I would, not surprisingly, dispute that characterization,” she said frostily, before recounting appointments with the British Prime Minister and official events surrounding the Belfast Good Friday Agreement.
In his speech at Ulster University, Biden will congratulate the province and its leaders on 25 years of peace with a speech at Ulster University.
Sloat said she would not discuss what would come up in the sessions.
“I think on the whole, and as I’ve indicated, the President obviously supports the institutions,” she told reporters at a morning briefing.
“The President, like everyone in Northern Ireland and the leader of the UK, wants the institutions to be operational.”
Biden arrived in Belfast amid a major police operation, the largest in the province in 10 years.
About 300 officers have been drafted in from other parts of the UK to increase the number, at a total cost of £7 million (about US$8.7 million).
His main official engagement on Wednesday is a speech at Ulster University.
Biden’s maternal line emigrated from Ireland during the Great Famine. The Blewitts left Co. Mayo and settled in Scranton, PA while the Finnegans left Co. Louth and came to New York
The President will deliver at least two messages, according to White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby.
“Congratulations on 25 years of the Good Friday Agreement which brought unprecedented peace and prosperity,” Kirby said. “And that relates to the second goal, which is to talk about the importance of working on trade and economic policies that benefit all communities as well as the United States.”
Biden previously tweeted: “25 years ago, Northern Ireland leaders chose peace.
“The Belfast/Good Friday Agreement ended decades of violence and brought stability. I look forward to celebrating the anniversary in Belfast and underscoring America’s commitment to keeping the peace and promoting prosperity.’