BORIS Johnson is set to get in contact with the US president-elect Joe Biden "shortly" after laying out the case for a close UK alliance with the new administration.
The Prime Minister is hoping to build a coalition with the US to tackle climate change and join up on their shared mantra to “build back better” after coronavirus.
“The United States is our closest and most important ally, and that has been the case president after president, prime minister after prime minister – it won’t change,” the Prime Minister said today.
“I look forward very much to working with President Biden and his team on a lot of crucial stuff for us in the weeks and months ahead: tackling climate change, trade, international security, many, many other issues.”
READ MORE:Â Brexit: Boris Johnson to hold talks with EU president in wake of Joe Biden win
Johnson has never met the former vice-president before and has an uphill battle ahead if he is to form a close relationship with the future Democratic administration following controversy around remarks made about former president Barack Obama.
Tommy Vietor, who was Obama's spokesperson, labelled Johnson a "shapeshifting creep" following the Prime Minister's congratulatory tweet to Biden on Saturday.
He was referencing Johnson previously suggesting that Obama’s “part-Kenyan heritage” was behind his “ancestral dislike of the British empire”. Vietor said: “We will never forget your racist comments about Obama and slavish devotion to Trump.”
According to the Sunday Times, Johnson joked with Downing Street officials that Biden was “one of the few world leaders I haven’t insulted”.
The president-elect might not be so amicable as, in December 2019, he labelled the Prime Minister a “physical and emotional clone” of President Donald Trump.
However, Johnson said there was “far more that unites” the UK and the US than divides when asked about the Democratic candidate’s negative comments about him.
READ MORE:Â Holyrood election: Boris Johnson to be told to stay away from campaign
“I think there is far more that unites the Government of this country and governments in Washington at any time and any stage than divides us,” he said.
“We have common values, we have common interests, we have common global perspective.”
Taking questions on whether Mr Biden’s win would put the chances of a US-UK trade deal at risk, the Prime Minister said he knew Washington had “tough negotiators” and that he “never believed this was going to be something that was going to be a complete pushover under any US administration”.
“I think there is a good chance we’ll do something,” he added.
Sir David Manning, a former British ambassador to the US, told Times Radio that Biden “values the bi-lateral relationship” and said a strong relationship with Johnson “should be possible” given the common interests between the longstanding allies.
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