Max Hastings, Columnist

Biden Transition Tests the U.S.-U.K. ‘Special Relationship’

A history of presidential handovers, and why they make the British so nervous.

December 6, 2020 at 6:00 AM UTC

Max Hastings is a Bloomberg columnist. He was previously a correspondent for the BBC and newspapers, editor in chief of the Daily Telegraph, and editor of the London Evening Standard. He is the author of 28 books, the most recent of which are "Vietnam: An Epic Tragedy" and "Chastise: The Dambusters Story 1943."

No joke.
Source: Keystone/Hulton Archive via Getty Images

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Presidential transitions, even when they are less fraught than this one, prompt more apprehension among America’s allies than among its enemies. This is especially true of the British.

The British government is exerting itself to show the incoming Joe Biden administration that the U.K. remains a useful ally. Last month, Prime Minister Boris Johnson agreed to a remarkably generous supplementary funding deal for Britain’s armed forces, worth $22 billion over four years. Clearly, he hopes the new U.S. commander in chief will regard this as a commitment to maintain the country’s military capability, always a cornerstone of transatlantic relations.