We didn’t invent the partisan divide and our partisan divide isn’t nearly as extreme as it is in other places. Compare and contrast these two pieces from British newspapers. From the Torygraph:
Sometimes when British prime ministers go to Washington it is uncertain whether or not the president will even mention the special relationship. Mr Trump began by talking about it. It is, he said, “one of the great forces in history†– and he is absolutely right. Bonded by blood spilt in war, the two nations have stood side by side for a century, and this story clearly means a lot to Mr Trump, who is himself half-Scottish. A bust of Winston Churchill has been returned to the Oval Office; an invitation to visit the UK has been delivered on behalf of the Queen. The prospect of royal recognition is key to understanding what Mr Trump gets out of this.
Mrs May confers credibility upon the new regime in Washington. The British Government understands why he won, she said, and that he wants to defend the interests of working people. And yet Mr Trump has faced isolation at home and abroad – people have challenged the legitimacy of his election win and suggested that he does not govern for all Americans. To be seen standing with Mrs May proves that his movement is understood by someone of importance, and that his status as leader of the free world is in no doubt. “I’m delighted to be able to congratulate you,†said the Prime Minister, “on what was a stunning election victory.â€
and from the Grauniad:
In normal times, you’d say everything went swimmingly. Sure, the American president seemed a tad unsure how to say the name of his guest – whom he greeted as Ter-raiser – slightly reinforcing the White House’s earlier failure, in a briefing note, to spell the British prime minister’s name correctly, dropping the “h†and thereby suggesting Donald Trump was about to receive Teresa May, who made her name as a porn star.
But other than that, the PM would have been delighted. In the press conference that followed their Oval Office meeting, there were no bombshells: Trump managed to get through it without insulting an entire ethnic group, trashing a democratic norm or declaring war, any of which might have diverted attention from May’s big moment. He was on best behaviour, diligently reading the script that had been written for him, attesting to the “deep bond†that connects Britain and the US. May received all the assurances she craved that her country’s relationship with the US remains “specialâ€. Why, he even, briefly, took her hand.
However, these are not normal times. May and her team will be pleased with the optics and indeed some of the substance – artfully, May got Trump to confirm, on camera, that he is “100% behind Nato†– but the underlying truth is that this dash to Washington was mortifying.
