State visit: Sunak in the White House: only a PR appointment or at eye level?

When Joe Biden receives Rishi Sunak in the White House today, it will be the US President’s fourth meeting with the British Prime Minister in four months. The British government is keen to emphasize this fact – as a sign of the traditionally close ties across the Atlantic.

The US government has repeatedly emphasized that Washington has no closer ally than Great Britain. But critics in London say that the “special relationship” with Washington is mainly on paper at the moment.

British media irritated

It is still clear how Biden, during his recent visit to Northern Ireland to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, fobbed off the British prime minister with just a brief bilateral meeting in a hotel bar – and then spent days in Ireland celebrating his descent from the Emerald Isle. British media were irritated. It was said jokingly that it was less of a bilateral meeting than a “bi-latte”, a coffee-to-go sipped together, nothing more.

The US Democrat, who is almost twice as old as the conservative Brit, later said that with his trip he wanted to make it clear to the British that they had to stick to the laboriously reached agreement with Brussels on the Brexit rules for Northern Ireland. When he congratulated Sunak after taking office in October 2022, he accidentally pronounced his name as “Rashi Sunuk”.

Biden not a Brexit fan

One reason for Biden’s skepticism is Britain’s exit from the EU. Unlike his predecessor Donald Trump, who promised Britain a speedy post-Brexit trade deal, Biden has never been a fan of Britain leaving the EU. “I’ve never met a Democrat who thought Brexit was a good idea,” Kim Darroch, former British ambassador to the US, recently told the Financial Times. “They hate Brexit because they feel it goes against the trend of world history and will cost them their most important access to the EU.”

In the meantime, however, relations are said to have improved, emphasize diplomats. This is mainly due to the high British commitment to Ukraine. Time and again, Sunak has pushed ahead with supplies of weapons – be it main battle tanks, longer-range cruise missiles or the establishment of a “fighter jet coalition”.

“It restored some credibility in Washington,” Darroch said. There is recognition in Washington that Sunak is pursuing a more realistic policy after the scandals of his predecessors Liz Truss and Boris Johnson. The Prime Minister knows that a free trade agreement with the USA that Brexit fans are hoping for is hopeless in the foreseeable future.

Sunak aims for AI cooperation

Ukraine will once again be a central theme during Sunak’s first visit to the White House as Prime Minister. In addition, Sunak, who has a degree from Stanford University in the US, wants to promote a common approach to regulating artificial intelligence and a leadership role for London. However, the 43-year-old comes quite late: The USA and the EU are already discussing a voluntary AI code of conduct – because of the consequences of Brexit, Great Britain is left out in the format. Now Sunak wants to prove that the kingdom, which has been detached from the “EU shackles”, is an agile partner.

The skepticism in London is great. “It is a simple strategic fact that Brexit makes a British prime minister less useful to Washington,” said Guardian columnist Rafael Behr. “Without leverage in Brussels, Sunak is unable to negotiate deals with Biden. Instead, he pays tribute.” This probably also applies to the British campaign to establish Defense Minister Ben Wallace as the successor to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. Sunak is campaigning more and more openly for his cabinet colleague, but resistance in Europe seems to be great.

New NATO personnel

The White House emphasizes that it has not yet decided on a successor to Stoltenberg. Ahead of Sunak’s visit, Biden spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said the US President was looking forward to the meeting. Important topics in the talks are the economic partnership between the two countries and joint support for Ukraine.

Developments in Northern Ireland should also be discussed. A joint press conference is planned for the German evening. Sunak is to be accommodated in the US President’s official guest house, the Blair House.

For Sunak, the pictures with Biden from the Oval Office should therefore be the best souvenir. The prime minister voluntarily refrained from other PR appearances: the cricket fan refrained from being thrown at a baseball game. Sunak snapped, commented the British “Sun” gleefully. After all, the prime minister will see Biden more often in the future. The US President received an invitation from King Charles III. accepted for a state visit, the visit is planned for this year.