President Biden embraces his Irish roots

From a UK point of view, the choreography of the visit to Northern Ireland could have been improved.

- ANTONIA FILMER

US President Joe Biden landed in Belfast on Wednesday with his son Hunter Biden and Joseph Kennedy III, US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland for Economic Affairs (a grandnephew of US President John Kennedy and Senator Edward Kennedy). The British welcome party consisted of the UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the Lord Lieutenant of County Antrim David McCorkell representing King Charles III and Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton Harris. Despite the cameras there was no iconic handshake photograph on the tarmac of Belfast airport to symbolise the UK-US special relationship.

The reporting on the arrival was skewed towards President Biden appearing to favour greeting the King's representative over the PM, then the President's armoured limousine obscured PM Sunak from most of the cameras. This led to an amplification of the commentariat who perceive the President as anti-British.

It is a fact that President Biden is ineffably proud of his Irish lineage, he refers to it frequently as he follows in the footsteps of John F. Kennedy and Bill Clinton on this pilgrimage to honour 25 years on from the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement (GFA).

It seems an Irish heritage gives folks a sense of belonging to an older history and culture, to which they become inseparable. There are over 30 million Americans with an Irish provenance, quite a vote bank should Biden announce he will run for re-election; the subtle message of descendant of Irish immigrant rises to be President of United States is a powerful campaign message.