Joe Biden ‘put two fingers up to UK and kowtowed to EU’ in NATO row

Joe Biden has been accused of “putting up two fingers to Great Britain while kowtowing to the European Union ” in a furious attack against the US president. Mr Biden is reportedly pushing for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to be the next head of NATO – weeks after UK Defence Secretary Ben Wallace’s candidacy was blocked by the White House. He has repeatedly been accused of being “anti-British” by Brexiteers after seemingly stonewalling on a UK-US trade deal and choosing not to attend the Coronation of King Charles III in May. Nile Gardiner, director of the Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom at The Heritage Foundation, wrote in an article for The Telegraph : “President Biden has a long track record of knifing Britain in the back. “He mercilessly sank a major trade deal between the United States and the United Kingdom, insultingly refused to attend the Coronation of King Charles III, and helped torpedo the candidacy of British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace to succeed Jens Stoltenberg as Nato secretary general. Joe Biden has been accused of ‘putting up two fingers to Great Britain’ (Image: GETTY) “Biden is now backing European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to be the next head of the NATO alliance. In doing so, Biden is putting up two fingers to America’s closest friend and ally Great Britain, while kowtowing to the EU.” Mr Gardiner also accused the US president of being “deeply Eurofederalist in outlook, with a long track record of currying favour with Brussels, Paris and Berlin”. He claimed during his leadership tenure, the White House “has grown noticeably closer to the European Union, Germany and France, while downgrading the ‘special relationship’ with the United Kingdom”. The foreign policy expert believes Mr Biden’s support for Ms von der Leyen will be “applauded by European elites and cheered by both German and French officials, who strongly opposed the idea of a British secretary general”. Ursula von der Leyen is reportedly being pushed by Biden to be the next head of NATO (Image: Getty) But Mr Gardiner further warned: “Biden is displaying spectacularly poor judgment, and risks weakening transatlantic security and actively undermining the most successful multilateral alliance of the modern era.” Meanwhile, David Mellor, the ex-Chief Secretary to the Treasury and former senior civil servant, has accused Mr Biden of being the “most anti-British president in living memory”, claiming his behaviour is “outrageous”. On Tuesday, current NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg was handed another year in charge of the alliance after potential successors – including Defence Secretary Ben Wallace – failed to gather enough support. He has been NATO’s top civilian official since 2014 and was due to see his term expire last year. But this was extended after Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Nile Gardiner has launched a furious attack against Joe Biden (Image: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP/REX/Shuttersto​ck) UK Defence Secretary Mr Wallace had pushed to become the first Briton to lead the alliance since 2003, but lacked the necessary support – particularly from the US. But a source close to the alliance told The Telegraph that Mr Biden is attempting to convince Ursula von der Leyen to succeed Mr Stoltenberg when his term ends in 2024. Mr Mellor told GB News: “I think that Joe Biden is the most anti-British president in living memory and possibly even in the memory of the quite long day. “It’s quite outrageous the way he behaves. His links to the Emerald Isle are no greater than his links to England, but basically this man has got it in for us.” Ursula von der Leyen has been European Commission president since December 2019 (Image: EXPRESSS) The European Commission president has previously said it is an “honour” to appear on the list of potential successors. But a spokesperson for the EU boss has said she is “not available for the job, be it now or in the future”. Follow our social media accounts here on facebook.com/ExpressUSNews and @expressusnews