Former U.S. president Barack Obama was a surprise visitor to Downing Street yesterday. Mr. Obama held “informal talks” with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, discussing artificial intelligence as well as the work of the Obama Foundation.

The timing and optics though, could not have been worse. This was a reckless move by Downing Street ahead of an impending U.S. presidential election this November, as well as a bad strategic decision to host a left-wing anti-British former president who actively tried to undermine Brexit and the democratic will of the British people.

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On an earlier visit to Number 10, hosted by then-Prime Minster David Cameron back in April 2016 ahead of the Brexit referendum, Obama warned Great Britain that it would be “in the back of the queue” for a trade deal with the United States if it dared to leave the European Union. This was an astonishing intervention by a U.S. president in advance of the biggest democratic vote in British history. It was a menacing slap in the face for the 17.4 million Britons who later ignored Obama’s advice and thankfully opted to take back control of the U.K. from the E.U.

It is hard to see how Obama’s visit in any way reassures Conservative Brexit supporters who believe the Sunak administration has been far too weak in fully implementing Brexit and delivering upon its earlier promises. Barack Obama epitomizes the anti-Brexit globalist liberal elite who openly sneer at the defense of borders, nation states and the fight against supranationalism.

As president, Obama and his administration also had a long track record of insulting Britain, from throwing out a bust of Winston Churchill from the Oval Office, to siding with former Argentine President Cristina Kirchner over the Falkland Islands. His successor, Joe Biden, has been just as bad, if not worse. Obama’s visit simply reminds the British electorate of the many times Biden and his team have shamelessly knifed Britain in the back, including over Northern Ireland, and sinking a trade deal between London and Washington.

When it comes to bashing Britain, Obama and Biden are birds of a feather. Biden of course served as Obama’s vice president and is in many respects continuing the Obama legacy and policy agenda. The two are inseparable in the eyes of the American people.

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The shameless courting of Mr. Obama by a British Prime Minister just months away from a hugely important U.S. presidential contest will not go down well with conservatives in America who are battling against the destructive open borders, big government, ultra woke agenda of the Biden administration. Many will question why a Conservative prime minister is welcoming a leftist former U.S. president closely aligned with the current incumbent in the White House. Obama’s ill-timed visit will do little to endear a potential second Trump administration to a Sunak-led government.

Instead of rolling out the red carpet for Barack Obama at Number 10, Rishi Sunak should be standing up to the anti-British Biden presidency and calling it out for its numerous threats against the U.K. And Mr. Obama should at last apologize to the British people for his rude and arrogant anti-Brexit threat back in 2016.

Barack Obama and Joe Biden have been no friends of Britain. Rishi Sunak should be cultivating ties with Donald Trump, who has been a stalwart defender of the Special Relationship, and an unflinching supporter of Brexit and the principles of sovereignty and self-determination.