Barack Obama made a surprise appearance at Downing Street on Monday for talks with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, while across the pond the White House played down reports of a rivalry between President Joe Biden and his old boss.
The former US president waved and smiled as he walked to the famous door number 10 on Monday afternoon.
It comes after Axios reported that Biden and Obama don’t speak often, but behind closed doors Biden talks a lot about Obama.
The report claimed that Biden “often measures himself against the man he served as vice president, current and former aides say.”
It was stated that there is a rivalry, especially on Biden’s side. But the White House reversed the reporting on Monday.
“The two presidents, President Obama and President Biden, have a very good relationship,” White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “You’ve all seen it over the years.”
She said the two are “like family to each other.”
Barack Obama made a surprise appearance at Downing Street today for talks with Rishi Sunak
It is not clear why Mr Obama is in Britain, and his visit was not on the government’s business agenda that day
Obama will appear in the White House together with Biden and Vice President Harris in 2022
Obama has visited the White House several times since Biden took office in 2017.
The former president returned to the White House for the first time since leaving office in April 2022 to join Biden in celebrating the Affordable Care Act.
He was also there later that year for the unveiling of the official White House portraits of him and former First Lady Michelle Obama.
More recently, the pair released an ad together for the ACA late last year.
Later this month, Obama will join Biden and former President Bill Clinton for a first-of-its-kind fundraiser in New York City as Biden makes a bid for a second term.
Obama has often publicly praised Biden and has already appeared in an ad for Biden’s re-election campaign.
He is expected to be a top surrogate for his former vice president as Biden runs for re-election in a likely rematch against former President Trump.
Obama and Biden together at the White House in September 2022 for the ceremony to unveil the official Obama White House portraits
Obama and Biden at the White House in April 2022 for an event celebrating the passage of the Affordable Care Act
Mr Obama’s visit to Downing Street, which lasted about an hour as the pair chatted in the Prime Minister’s study, was described as a “courtesy call” as Mr Obama happened to be in London.
It was the first time the two leaders had met, and the pair are said to have discussed a range of topics including artificial intelligenceone on one in Margaret Thatcher’s former study while enjoying a cup of tea.
No. 10 said little about the content of their conversation, but both men have two daughters and a shared agenda to promote education and opportunities for girls.
The former US president waved and smiled as he walked to the famous door number 10 this afternoon
The agenda is a central mission of Obama’s foundation, and speaking at a business event in Warwickshire earlier, the Prime Minister said: ‘I want my girls to grow up in an economy and society where there are no limits to their ambitions.’
When leaving the meeting hHe smiled and said, “I’m tempted” when reporters asked him for his opinion on the state of Russia’s democracy before climbing into a Range Rover with U.S. Ambassador to Britain Jane D. Hartley just after 4 p.m. .
Obama later held private talks with Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer.
One of Obama’s most notable previous trips was in 2016, when he infamously stood next to David Cameron and warned that Britain would be “at the back of the queue” for a trade deal after leaving the EU.
That intervention during the referendum battle angered Brexiteers, although they also saw it as useful for their anti-establishment campaign.
Britain has not yet signed a trade deal with the US, although there was a big push to do so when Donald Trump was president.
Obama was in the White House from 2009 to 2017, with Biden as his vice president.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: ‘He was making an informal courtesy visit as part of his trip to London where he is carrying out work for the Obama Foundation.’
The spokesperson added: “I think President Obama’s team reached out and the Prime Minister was obviously very happy to meet with him and discuss the work of the Obama Foundation.”
An Obama spokesperson declined to reveal the purpose of the visit but referred DailyMail.com to the 10 Downing statement.