Bernie Sanders' victory would destroy America's alliance with Britain

ANALYSIS / NOTICE:

In 1948, the greatest Anglo-American of all time, Winston Churchill said in a speech in Scotland: "Socialism is the philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance and gospel of envy. " Fast forward 70 years, the Democrats would like to see a man in the White House who would bring this gospel evil to America and who would destroy our relationships with our most loyal ally, Britain.

Although there were a few bumps in the road to Anglo-American relations during President Trump's first term, relations are solid and should reach a new level of positive cooperation with discussions underway for a bilateral trade agreement post-Brexit. Our most important global alliance would strike an unimaginable blow in the unlikely event of Bernie Sanders coming to power. We cannot afford to seize this opportunity.

Trump's US trade representative Robert Lighthizer is currently in London to meet with UK trade secretary Liz Truss on a long-awaited trade deal which will ideally be a joint victory in many sectors, but especially in digital and services.

The stakes are high, because among Prime Minister Boris Johnson's goals of achieving Brexit is the conclusion of favorable global trade agreements, which the United Kingdom has been prevented from negotiating for itself- even while it was part of the EU. Britain and the UK are each other's biggest investors, and the motivations and hopes are high.

Right from the start of his term, Mr. Trump expressed enthusiasm for a solid trade deal. In fact, during Mr. Johnson's election victory in December 2019, the President tweeted: “Congratulations to Boris Johnson for his excellent WIN! Britain and the United States will now be free to sign a new massive trade deal after BREXIT. This agreement has the potential to be much larger and more lucrative than any agreement that could be concluded with the EU. Celebrate Boris! "

---

---

Currently, with 45 delegates promised, Mr. Sanders far exceeds his Democratic rivals. This should scare the heart of the UK, as a victory for Sanders would not only jeopardize the long-awaited trade deal, but the very foundations of the special relationship.

Historically opposed to free trade agreements, it is conceivable that Sanders could at this point abandon the efforts so meticulously anticipated on both sides. Sanders makes his position clear on his campaign website: "I believe in fair trade that works for the middle class and working families, not just the big multinationals."

"We need to end the race to the bottom and develop trade policies that require American companies to create jobs here, not overseas."

In addition to economic relations, a Sanders presidency would also change the critical defense and intelligence sharing alliance that makes our relations with Britain so critical.

When Mr. Sanders ran against Democratic candidates in 2016 for the party's nomination, his campaign manager told the UK Telegraph: "The United Kingdom should be ready to reassess this relationship if the campaign to rise Vermont senator ends with general election victory, as Mr. Sanders thinks it is time for the United States to stop "spending so much of its resources to defend the rest of the world".

Bernie Sanders is unlikely to appreciate the centuries-old ties to our mother country. Ironically, Mr. Sanders shares many ideological views with the leader of the Labor Party and his socialist colleague Jeremy Corbyn, whom Mr. Johnson completely defeated in December. The two men are enemies of capitalism and have little time for the foundations of the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.

The two men admire leftist dictators like Fidel Castro, anathema to most of their compatriots. Furthermore, in Middle Eastern politics, both part and antagonism for the State of Israel, and affinity for the Palestinians.

Britain and America were spared the havoc that could have been caused if Mr. Corbyn had found his way to Downing Street. Likewise, despite Mr. Sanders' performance in caucuses, Democratic leaders and campaign experts are discouraged by his prospects. In politics, it is normally a plus to know what a candidate represents. In Bernie's case, he defends things that most of the United States and our allies find objectionable.

This is certainly good news for America and for the special relationship. Our US ambassador to the Court of Saint James, Woody Johnson, said of the Anglo-American alliance: “It's about as close as possible; it's like a family. You can have quarrels here and there, but at the end of the day, you are the whole family – you come back and you agree on the important things. "With a President Sanders, we would be much less confident.

• Lee Cohen is a member of the Danube Institute. He was an adviser for Europe to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the United States House of Representatives and founded the Congressional United Kingdom Caucus.

Subscribe to the Daily Opinion newsletter