Inspired by his conversation with Professor Scott Lucas about the 'Special Relationship' on the latest Byline Times podcast, Adrian Goldberg reflects on how things stand now between the UK and the US.
Maybe in the halcyon days of relations between the UK and US there may well have been a special relationship, but not now. Trump has killed that idea stone dead. The imposition of tariffs, the persistent undermining of our government, helped in no due part by nigel farage, who belittles the UK every chance he gets when he's in the states, and the fact that trump sees this country as insignificant and should do everything he says. To claim the special relationship is working is a lie. We are now subject to the whims of a narcissist with fronto temporal dementia whose actions are trying to cause a distraction from the Epstein files. We can no longer rely on the US to have our backs.
I find the analysis compelling but not the conclusion. There is an alternative to pandering to Trump’s childish narcissism. First, tell hm to FO as he not a reliable friend of the UK. Second, fast-track a far closer relationship with the EU. And third, in cooperation with European allies speedily develop our own systems so that the UK and Europe create long-term resilience in the face of a capricious US.
We should treat the US under Trump as an unhelpful and possibly hostile actor, potentially threatening European solidarity and security and therefore take things in-house including much of what has been outsourced (for cheapness) to other potentially unreliable and hostile states.
One could say that King Charles being effectively forced by UK politicians into visiting the US and kissing the Trump ring in April is proof the relationship U.K./US relationship is coercive
Maybe in the halcyon days of relations between the UK and US there may well have been a special relationship, but not now. Trump has killed that idea stone dead. The imposition of tariffs, the persistent undermining of our government, helped in no due part by nigel farage, who belittles the UK every chance he gets when he's in the states, and the fact that trump sees this country as insignificant and should do everything he says. To claim the special relationship is working is a lie. We are now subject to the whims of a narcissist with fronto temporal dementia whose actions are trying to cause a distraction from the Epstein files. We can no longer rely on the US to have our backs.
I find the analysis compelling but not the conclusion. There is an alternative to pandering to Trump’s childish narcissism. First, tell hm to FO as he not a reliable friend of the UK. Second, fast-track a far closer relationship with the EU. And third, in cooperation with European allies speedily develop our own systems so that the UK and Europe create long-term resilience in the face of a capricious US.
We should treat the US under Trump as an unhelpful and possibly hostile actor, potentially threatening European solidarity and security and therefore take things in-house including much of what has been outsourced (for cheapness) to other potentially unreliable and hostile states.
One could say that King Charles being effectively forced by UK politicians into visiting the US and kissing the Trump ring in April is proof the relationship U.K./US relationship is coercive