Biden, Johnson strike warm tone in first meeting

CARBIS BAY, England - Striking a warm tone, President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson used their first meeting Thursday to highlight a commitment to strengthening their nations' historic ties while setting aside, at least publicly, their political and personal differences.

Beginning a week of diplomacy across the Atlantic, Biden hopes to use his first overseas trip as president to reassure European allies that the United States had shed the transactional tendencies of Donald Trump's term and is a reliable partner again. Long a believer in alliances, Biden stressed the deep bonds with the United Kingdom as a lynchpin of his call for Western democracies to compete against rising authoritarian states.

"We affirmed the special relationship -- it's not said lightly -- the special relationship between our people," Biden said after the meeting. "We renewed our pledge to defend the enduring democratic values that both of our nations share that are the strong foundation of our partnership."

https://www.startribune.com/biden-johnson-strike-warm-tone-in-first-meeting/600066598/