He argued that the referendum “affects our prospects as well”, which all sounded very genial and not at all as though the President was lecturing voters… until Obama then argued that Britain would go to the “back of the queue” when it came to negotiations for a UK-US trade deal.
Advertisement
Obama also reiterated his arguments, earlier published in an op-ed in The Daily Telegraph, that the UK’s influence in the world is magnified by being a member of the European Union, not diminished. Only this week, leading Out campaigner Michael Gove, the Justice Secretary, insisted by exiting the EU Britain would be able to take control of trade negotiations and seal deals with the likes of America “more quickly”.
Many U.S. banks and companies fear a Brexit would cause market turmoil, diminish the clout of Washington’s strongest European ally, hurt London’s global financial hub status, cripple the EU and weaken Western security.
“You always look on USA elections in awe of the scale of the process and the length of the process”, Cameron said.
According to BBC News, Johnson criticized Obama’s call for Britain to remain in the European Union, calling it “incoherent”, “inconsistent”, and “downright hypocritical”.
Barack Obama has hit back after suggestions by Boris Johnson that he harboured an “ancestral dislike of the British empire” because of his Kenyan heritage.
“I’m not coming here to fix any votes – I’m not casting a vote myself”, Obama said.
Before talks at Cameron’s Downing Street office, Obama and his wife Michelle congratulated Queen Elizabeth, who celebrated her 90th birthday on Thursday.
Nigel Farage, leader of the anti-EU U.K. Independence Party, said Obama – who is due to meet Prime Minister David Cameron later Friday – should “butt out”.
“I love Winston Churchill, love the guy” he added.
“[Cameron] will hope that people switching on their evening news in Britain tonight will say, ‘Well, you know, President Obama. doesn’t think it’s a good idea that we should leave, maybe I’ll give it a second thought, ‘” said Watson. “We are so bound together that nothing’s going to impact the emotional and cultural affinities between our two countries”, he said.
It said in a 2012 post on its website that former prime minister Tony Blair had loaned George W Bush a Churchill bust for the Oval Office which was removed on the day of Obama’s inauguration.
Cameron said that for both the USA and United Kingdom, “our collective power and reach is amplified by Britain’s membership of the European Union”.
The UK’s Cameron backed up these sentiments by saying that Britain’s “special relationship” with the USA was strengthened by the country’s membership in the EU. “I think the migration crisis amplifies a debate that is not only taking place in Europe, but the United States as well”.
Advertisement
Mr Johnson was accused of “dog whistle racism” after his Sun column this morning labelled Mr Obama the “half-Kenyan president”.
