Reacting to the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union, President Obama said Friday he respected voters’ decision, while stressing the “vital” relationships the United States has with both the United Kingdom and the European Union.
“The United Kingdom and the European Union will remain indispensable partners of the United States even as they begin negotiating their ongoing relationship to ensure continued stability, security, and prosperity for Europe, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the world,” the President said in a statement released by the White House.
Back in April, President Obama warned that if the United Kingdom left the European Union, it risked being “in the back of the queue” in trade deals the United States was negotiating with Europe — comments that prompted a backlash from Brexit proponents.
Obama’s full statement on the Brexit vote is below:
The people of the United Kingdom have spoken, and we respect their decision. The special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom is enduring, and the United Kingdom’s membership in NATO remains a vital cornerstone of U.S. foreign, security, and economic policy. So too is our relationship with the European Union, which has done so much to promote stability, stimulate economic growth, and foster the spread of democratic values and ideals across the continent and beyond. The United Kingdom and the European Union will remain indispensable partners of the United States even as they begin negotiating their ongoing relationship to ensure continued stability, security, and prosperity for Europe, Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the world.
Sad day, and I have no doubt that there will be a very bad case of buyers remorse.
Old, white voters were sold a pack of lies by Right wing newspapers and people like Borris Johnson trying to advance their personal ambition. They have no real plan, and the consequences will be enormous.
The most immediate impact of this (other than a bad recession and job losses) is going to be to turn the UK into “England” and with Scotland gone, the remaining “England” will become a more hard right Tory country.
Cameron of course is primarily responsible for destroying the UK, but Corbyn is also at fault for not getting involved earlier. It was Labor voters who put “leave” over the top, but the end result of this (Scotland leaving) ends the chance of a Labor government.
Only question I have is if the buyers remorse is strong enough on this, as people wake up to the costs, that England does not go through with this, since it is after all only a “non-binding” referendum, not a binding out come. Brexit requires Parliament to act.
So England goes Kansas on us?
It’s been hard to separate any wheat from the chaff of ridiculous memes from both sides but it’s fairly apparent that the brits have voted themselves into doing something for which they have not a clue of the eventual outcome.
We need to make damn certain that something like this does not happen in November.
Meanwhile we can observe and learn from what happened yesterday and hope that it does not lead to additional hard right turns back to nineteen thirties Europe.
Lower and middle class people are suffering and they’re desperate. I see this as a cry of rage at the global elite and the politicians who are birthed by that class.
As Brexit doesn’t help the very people who voted for it, they’re basically saying they’re fed up and willing to sink the global economy…because any way they look at it…they lose. No options for success as they see it.
Were they ‘really’ suffering? I don’t think people REMEMBER 2008 and the near collapse of the world economy. Bitching has become the norm. NOTHING is ever ‘good enough’. NO ONE is ‘responsible’. I am not some entitled, wealthy snob. I am middle class. I was laid off during the recession. I networked, went back to school, buckled down, got a job, paid my bills, kept my house, sent my kids thru college. It was tough but suffer? I don’t think so.
In America, anything is possible with hard work, good for you and your family!