Obama's parting insult to UK: Outgoing leader calls Merkel 'closest ally' and slams Brexit
BARACK Obama has handed down one final insult to Britain as he prepares to leave the White House and be replaced by self-avowed anglophile Donald Trump.
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The outgoing US President paid tribute to German Chancellor Angela Merkel for being his “closest international partner” and launched a thinly veiled attack on Brexit in a major snub to the cherished special relationship.
Speaking to the Washington press corps for the first time since the US election Mr Obama, who has often been portrayed as hostile to the UK, stressed how he will assure world leaders of America’s position on global economic and security issues.
In an extraorindary snub to other world leaders, the President praised Ms Merkel and in a swipe at Britain’s historic Brexit vote, said he supported a “united Europe”.
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In Germany I will visit with Chancellor Merkel who has probably been my closest international partner these eight yearsPresident Barack Obama
President Obama loftily insisted “We are indisputably in a stronger position today than we were when I came in eight years ago”.
Before he undertakes visits to Greece and Germany next week, he said: “Our work has helped us stabilise the global economy.
“In Germany I will visit with Chancellor Merkel who has probably been my closest international partner these eight years and will signal solidarity with our closest allies and express our support for a strong, integrated and united Europe.
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“It’s essential to our national security and global stability.”
Despite the US and Germany enjoying a close relationship under the Obama administration, Donald Trump’s election victory heralds a hard break in relations.
In a provocative message after the US election Ms Merkel set conditions for cooperation with Mr Trump.
She said: "Germany and America are connected by values of democracy, freedom and respect for the law and the dignity of man, independent of origin, skin colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation or political views.
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”I offer the next President of the United States close cooperation on the basis of these values."
Ms Merkel urged Germans to stand up for an "open-minded" country, warning that the US election victory of Mr Trump could inflame Germany's refugee debate.
The President-elect has denounced as "insane" the German Chancellor’s decision to allow more than a million migrants into Germany and claimed it had increased crime.
Donald Trump's awkward visit to the White House
Thu, November 10, 2016President Barack Obama and President-Elect Donald Trump met at the White House to discuss the handover of power.
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Ms Merkel is widely expected to stand for a fourth term in an election next September and although her conservatives are roughly 10 points ahead of their nearest rivals, her open-door migrant policy has angered many voters.
The right-wing Alternative for Germany, which has embraced tough anti-immigrant rhetoric, is drawing support away from the bigger traditional parties.
President Obama was hailed as the heir to John F. Kennedy, who came to a divided Berlin in 1963, two years after construction of the Berlin Wall began, and reassured Germans with the word "Ich bin ein Berliner".
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The President will make what promises to be a bittersweet farewell visit to Berlin this week.
In a wide-reaching press conference, President Obama said it was important for Mr Trump to send signals of unity after a bitterly fought campaign.
Mr Obama declined to comment on the President-elect’s selection of Bannon as his White House chief strategist.
But the Democratic president said he privately told the Republican Mr Trump in an Oval Office meeting last week that because of the "bitterness and the ferocity of the campaign that it's really important to try to send some signals of unity and to reach out to minority groups, to women and others that were concerned about the tenor of the campaign."
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