Biden takes a selfie with alleged IRA member and former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams

Joe Biden posed for a selfie on Thursday with Gerry Adams, the former leader of the Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein, dealing another blow to his advisers who have tried to insist he is not anti-British.

Adams spent his life trying to secure a united Ireland and end British rule in the north. Despite years of rumor, Adams has always denied any membership in the IRA and denied any involvement in their campaign of terror during the decades of the Troubles.

Addressing a joint session of parliament at Leinster House in Dublin, Biden gave a speech he said was “to reflect on the enduring strength of the ties between Ireland and the United States, a partnership for the ages.”

Among the listeners was Adams, the 74-year-old former leader of Sinn Fein, who has known Biden for many years.

Adams, who stepped down as Sinn Fein chief in 2018 after 30 years, posted a selfie of the pair together, captioning it: “A President Biden Selfie.”

The selfie does little to help White House aides, who insisted on Wednesday that Biden is “not anti-British.”

Biden met Adams during a previous visit to Ireland in 2017.

At the time, Biden was the former Vice President and Adams the leader of Sinn Fein.

The pair met in Dublin at a meeting heralded by Adams as an opportunity to brief Biden on negotiations to restore political institutions in the north.

“We also discussed the potentially very damaging effect of Brexit on the island of Ireland, and in particular the implications for the border and for the Good Friday Agreement,” Adams said at the time.

And in November 2020, it was revealed that Biden had lobbied then-President Bill Clinton to grant Adams a US visa in 1993 — despite the wishes of the British government.

Biden argued that allowing Adams to visit the US would draw him deeper into the peace process and distance him from the IRA’s ongoing armed struggle against British rule in the province.

It was lobbying confirmed by Sir Peter Westmacotta former British Ambassador to the United States.

Biden has strong British roots. . . but he has even stronger Irish roots, and was one of four leading Democratic senators who in 1993 urged President Clinton to take a risk for peace and allow Sinn Fein’s Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness to visits, ignoring number 10’s protests. said.

Clinton tweeted in 2019, on the 25th anniversary of Adams’ visit to the US, that his decision to grant the visa was “highly controversial but crucial” to jumpstart the peace process.

The decision enraged the British government.

Biden also met Adams’ successor as leader of Sinn Fein, Mary Lou McDonald, during this current trip.

On Thursday, McDonald and Sinn Fein Vice President Michelle O’Neill both posted photos from their meeting with Biden.

‘Everyone had a great day. The special relationship between our two countries is strong and lasting. Ties from history, family, friendship,” McDonald tweeted.

O’Neill also met Biden in Belfast on Wednesday.

“I was delighted to welcome President Joe Biden to Belfast today, strengthening our partnership for peace and prosperity with the United States of America,” she tweeted.

“It is great to see President Biden invested so deeply in the continued transformation of our society, and I welcome his commitment to working with us to build a brighter, brighter future for all of our people. 25 years after the Good Friday Agreement, we must now work together to seize the exciting opportunities that lie ahead in a new Executive.

;Aiming as one to attract investment, create jobs for our youth and ensure that all communities benefit from our peace.

“Leading an Executive that brings prosperity to every citizen is my priority.”

The 80-year-old – considered the most Irish of all US presidents, with 10 of his 16 great-great-grandparents coming from the Emerald Isle – has made no secret of his sympathy for the cause of Irish nationalism.

In the 1980s he described Britain’s position in Northern Ireland as “absolutely outrageous” and argued against the deportation of IRA suspects from the US to Britain.

In 1985, he told the Senate during a debate on a possible extradition treaty: “If we ratify this treaty, we admit that the justice system in Northern Ireland is fair – an idea I absolutely abhor.”

Landing in Ireland on Tuesday, Arlene Foster, who previously served as Northern Ireland’s prime minister and leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, told GB News that Biden was “hate the UK” and “pro-nationalist.”

She added, “I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.

“And I just think his coming here won’t put any pressure on the Democratic Unionists at all, on the contrary, because so many people just see him as pro-republican and pro-nationalist.”

In response, a senior White House aide, Amanda Sloat, denied that Biden was against the UK.

“I think the president’s record shows he is not anti-British,” she said on Wednesday.

“The President has been very actively involved throughout his career, dating back to his time as a Senator in the Northern Ireland peace process, and that has included involvement with leaders from all Northern Ireland parties from both of the two main communities.”

Sloat insisted that the UK remained one of the US’s “closest allies” and that the two countries would continue to work together.

“I think his message to the DUP and to all political leaders will be the continued strong support to see the peace process move forward here and this President’s strong desire to increase US investment in Northern Ireland to take advantage of the huge economic potential that seems here.’

Biden somewhat undermined her message hours later, when he spoke glowingly about a person who “knuckled the Black and Tans out of hell” – a British militia, who had been brought to Ireland to stamp out the independence cause.

Biden seemed to be referring to the All Blacks – he was referring to an Irish rugby player who triumphed over the New Zealand squad – but some said the reference was a Freudian slip.

Biden’s four-day trip to Ireland was officially timed to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

He landed in Belfast on Tuesday evening and met British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in Belfast on Wednesday morning.

He spoke at Ulster University after meeting Sunak and then visited Carlingford where his great great grandfather was born.

Accompanied by his sister Valerie and son Hunter, Biden then headed to Kilwirra cemetery, where his ancestors were buried, before stopping at the pub in Dundalk.

On Thursday, Biden met with President Michael D. Higgins in Dublin, addressing the joint session of parliament before attending a banquet dinner at Dublin Castle.

On Friday, the president flies to County Mayo to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock and a family heritage center.