Joe Biden’s foreign policy branded ‘complete disaster’ – UK-US trade deal fears surge

That is the warning from Nile Gardiner, a foreign policy analyst and former aide to Margaret Thatcher, who launched a blistering attack against US President Joe Biden since he took over at the White House a year ago. Mr Biden infuriated the world in 2021 when he pressed ahead with a decision to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan as the brutal regime of the Taliban took a stranglehold on the war-torn country. White House predecessor Donald Trump had been a vocal supporter of Brexit and regularly talked up the prospect of a lucrative trade agreement between the US and UK.

But his defeat in the US presidential election has seemingly thrown cold water over that, with Mr Biden frequently voicing his frustration at the UK’s implementation of the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Mr Biden, who is of Irish heritage, has previously warned he would “ensure there was no US-UK trade deal if the implementation of Brexit imperils the Good Friday Agreement”.

Foreign policy expert Mr Gardiner, who provided advice on international policy to Mrs Thatcher, has lashed out at Mr Biden’s performance on the world stage since he became US President.

He claimed tension has built in the UK-US ‘special relationship’ because of the Biden administration’s “animosity” towards Brexit, and that there is no momentum from the White House to proceed with a post-Brexit trade deal.

Mr Gardiner told Express.co.uk: “There is a lot of tension in the UK-US special relationship.

“That is the result of the Biden administration’s animosity towards Brexit and the unwillingness from that Administration to move forward with a US-UK free trade deal.

“The Biden presidency has been hugely unhelpful in regards to UK-US relations and Biden’s foreign policy has been a complete disaster, as we saw with the Afghanistan withdrawal, damaging the US standing in the world.

“There isn’t any momentum from the Administration to move forward with a trade deal.

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But despite the apparent lack of momentum towards agreeing a post-Brexit trade deal with the UK, Mr Gardiner believes there could be a significant shift following next November’s midterm elections in the US.

Mr Biden’s disapproval rating jumped to a record high in December as an increasing number of voters signalled their fury with his administration’s management of the US economy and Covid pandemic.

The new CNBC/Change Research poll of 1,895 respondents found 56 percent of voters say they disapprove of the job he is doing – the worst such reading of his year-long presidency.

The Democrat’s approval rating now stands at just 44 percent, down from 46 percent in September and 51 percent in April.

Mr Gardiner is predicting a massive Republican victory in the midterms, claiming the elections could be a “game-changer” in accelerating a possible UK-US trade deal.

He told Express.co.uk: “Things could change after next November’s midterm elections where polls are projecting a huge Republican landslide, which would fundamentally alter the balance of power in the US Congress.

“If that change happens, there would be far greater pressure on the White House to move forward with a trade deal.

“The midterms are a game-changer, as it the 2024 presidential election in 2024, if you have a conservative president keen to move forward with a trade deal.”