British Cabinet insiders were quoted as suggesting the US president 'looked gaga' and described him as 'doolally'
Source - Daily Telegraph - 28/08/21
Joe Biden "will remember" comments about his mental acuity emanating from senior figures in the UK, and will "bear a grudge" against Britain, sources told the Telegraph.
It came after Cabinet insiders were quoted as suggesting the US president "looked gaga" and described him as “doolally” in the wake of the fall of Kabul.
"The Brits have their view. But they should be careful. What's been said is offensive and he will remember it. He actually has a long memory," a US source told the Telegraph.
"It's always been his way that if somebody says something really bad to him, or about him, he doesn't speak to them again. He does bear grudges. Boris Johnson should know that."
The source added: "The president is not 'gaga'. He's actually picked up his game quite a bit since the campaign."
Comments by Cabinet insiders calling Mr Biden "gaga" were first printed in the UK, but were repeated in the Washington Post and read in the White House.
It threatened to plunge the beleaguered special relationship to a new low.
Mr Johnson himself has pushed back against Mr Biden's decision to withdraw from Afghanistan by Aug 31.
A White House insider said the criticism from Britain had been noted, and would not be forgotten quickly.
He said: "Quite frankly, it bodes poorly for the relationship with the UK. The special relationship is very much in danger at this point.
"The president will say publicly that everything is fine, that our ties have never been stronger, but behind the scenes we are at a very dangerous moment. For him [Mr Biden] it's my way or the highway."
He added: "It's incumbent on [Boris] Johnson to come to the defence of the special relationship.
"When you have individual MPs talking like this it's harmful, but when the Prime Minister says something it reverberates around the halls of power in Washington.
"Johnson needs to take dramatic action to secure the relationship."
Mr Biden's closest advisers, secretary of state Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan, have privately long regarded Mr Johnson's administration with a "level of caution," despite their public comments, the Telegraph has been told.
The British dissent on Afghanistan, which was the most vocal of any of America's key allies, will have reinforced that.
After Kabul fell Mr Johnson tried to speak to Mr Biden by phone but it took 36 hours for a conversation to happen.
In another phone call a week later Mr Biden point blank rejected Mr Johnson's request for a delay to the Aug 31 withdrawal deadline.
Mr Biden himself has publicly made clear his irritation with criticism from allies.
In a rare TV interview last week he hit back at dissenting Nato allies, saying they "had a choice" to stay in Afghanistan despite the US pulling out.
There has been a torrent of criticism of the President from ministers and MPs over the botched withdrawal, which left British officials scrambling to get UK citizens out of Afghanistan.
Mr Johnson and Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, have pointed the finger at Washington in explaining why UK troops could not remain in Afghanistan.
The Prime Minister told Parliament the mission in Afghanistan could not be continued without American support and air power.
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