President Joe Biden needs to be on best behavior during his visit to Northern Ireland and avoid making any anti-British gaffes that could further derail the region’s deadlocked political system, according to one of the province’s MPs.
Claire Hanna, who represents South Belfast for the nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party, said unionists were ready to seize on any clumsy jokes or asides for political gain.
But Biden has a habit of peppering remarks about his Irish links with memories of his mother’s anti-English sentiment and dubious jokes about the Protestant community.
[Biden has created problems before on visits to Northern Ireland. He’s one of the least-disciplined presidents we’ve had, so expect some sort of embarrassing remark. The White House seems to expect it too, which is why they’re not keeping him long in Northern Ireland; he’ll be there less than a day, spending the other three days in the Republic of Ireland. — Ed]
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