Arlene Foster launches fresh attack on Joe Biden saying as soon as he's off-script 'he reverts to Irish nationalist type'

It comes after he blundered when he mistook the All Blacks rugby team with the Black and Tans.

Ms Foster’s comments came a day after White House aides issued a statement denying a claim she made on Tuesday night that Mr Biden “hates the UK”.

The former DUP leader and NI first minster said on GB News, where she now works as a presenter: “I think he has a disdain for the UK and he had very carefully scripted words when he was in Belfast which I think were greatly appreciated by those in attendance.

“But once he’s off script, he reverts to type and he spoke about his cousin who played for the Ireland rugby team, and he said he ‘beat up the Black and Tans’, as opposed to the All Blacks.

“The Black and Tans are a recruited force who were brought in during the time of the war for independence and they were hated by Irish republicans.

“They came mostly from Great Britain and they served in World War One. Even to this day Irish republicans have songs for the Black and Tans.

“Now why would the President be thinking about the Black and Tans when he’s discussing the All Blacks?

“I think it goes to his mindset in relation to what happened in Ireland.

“He is not always balanced in matters relating to Northern Ireland

“I acknowledge he was diplomatic in Belfast when he spoke but that was because he gave a scripted speech.”

She told Patrick Christys: “Joe Biden’s record has not been even-handed and I think that must be acknowledged.

“I think just to push it all away and say ‘that's nonsense’ is not recognising what he has said in the past, which has been offensive to people living with a British tradition here in Northern Ireland.”

Asked for specific examples, she said: “Back in 1985, when we had a special relationship between President Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, he opposed attempts to make extradition easier, in other words bring IRA suspects back from America to Northern Ireland to face trial.

• Joe Biden visit to Northern Ireland: 'Shielding IRA men from UK justice does not make you more Irish'

“He made comments such as ‘if you wear orange, you’re not welcome here’, when he was Vice President.

“Of course those of an orange tradition here in Northern Ireland found that offensive. He’s very proud of the fact that his mother refused to sleep in a bed that her late Majesty the Queen slept in.

“He continuously makes comments about Irish matters, for example when he was in the West Bank, he said he could understand how Palestinians felt as someone from a Catholic background in Ireland, implying that the UK was similar to Israel in connection with Palestine.

“He makes all of these comments and that’s what I was reflecting on.”

Below is a link to Mr Biden’s full address to Northern Ireland, recorded at 1pm, Wednesday, April 12, 2023.

He spoke for about 20 minutes, not always very audibly, about his ancestral roots in Britain and Ireland and about his hopes for peace in Northern Ireland.

You can watch the whole thing here and judge for yourself:

• WATCH / LISTEN for yourself: US president Joe Biden's full uncut address to Northern Ireland 25 years after the Good Friday Agreement

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