SIMON HARRIS HAS said that US President Joe Biden has been the “voice of reason” amid global crises such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the pandemic.
Biden today announced he would not seek re-election.
In a lengthy statement, the Taoiseach thanked him for his leadership and “friendship”.
“The world has changed since President Biden’s victory in 2020 and we have had to face extraordinary challenges from a global pandemic to the return of war to the continent of Europe with the horrific full scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia which has deliberately targeted and killed innocent civilians.
President Biden has been a voice for reason, effective multilateralism and shared solutions.
“He and the United States recognised early on that Russia’s war of aggression in Ukraine was not merely an illegal invasion of a neighbour by a permanent member of the UN Security Council, but an attack on international law and democratic freedom.
“As President Biden has himself said many times, Russia will not stop with Ukraine.
While the pair have not met, Harris recounted a phone call with the US President last month in which they discussed Biden’s “plans for a ceasefire in Israel’s war in Gaza”.
“This plan remains the only way on the table to stop the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, release hostages and allow aid to flow freely. I am glad the President will continue his focus on this in the weeks and months ahead.”
On his career as a whole, Harris said Biden has been an “unwavering voice and passionate worker for peace on the island of Ireland”.
Our country owes him a great debt for this.
“On a personal level,” Harris continued, “President Biden is a proud American with an Irish soul. When he arrived into Belfast, Louth and Mayo last year he himself said it was like coming home.
“The outpouring of love and support from the public, even in the pouring Irish rain, from Carlingford to Ballina was testament to how highly the President is held in his ancestral home.”
Biden’s connection to Ireland comes on his maternal side through two families: the Blewitts of Ballina, Co Mayo and the Finnegans on the Cooley Peninsula in Co Louth.
Biden, who is 81-years-old, came under pressure from both friends and foes to exit the race and make way for a younger candidate in hopes of defeating Trump, who is the Republican runner again.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin reacted to Biden’s departure from the race with “both sadness and admiration”.
In a post to X, he shared photos of him with the US President, describing him as an “abiding friend of Ireland”.
“His visit last year will long be remembered as a powerful & joyous celebration of our relationship with the US This has no doubt been the toughest of calls, but one done, as ever, with dignity & class. I know that the people of Ireland will wish President Biden the very best.”
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