Biden meets with U.K.'s Boris Johnson for first time as president
10 June 2021
President Biden and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson held a bilateral meeting ahead of the G-7 summit in Cornwall, England, marking the first time Biden has met in-person with a leader he once called a "physical and emotional clone" of former President Trump.
Why it matters: It's the first test of the "special relationship" between the U.S. and the U.K. since Biden was elected. Biden and Johnson shared several light-hearted moments as they toured the seaside village of Carbis Bay, but discussions between the two leaders will not be without some tensions.
- Johnson spearheaded the Brexit campaign and ultimately led the U.K. out of the European Union, a move that Biden vehemently opposed.
- Biden is likely to raise concerns about the U.K.'s negotiations with Ireland over Northern Ireland, where border issues in the wake of Brexit threaten to derail the peace deal that the U.S. helped negotiate in the 1990s.
Publicly, however, the two leaders were nothing but positive about their relationship, with Biden joking: "I told the prime minister we have something in common. We both married way above our station." Johnson responded: “I’m not going to disagree with the president on that, or indeed on anything else."
- The two leaders are set to agree to a new Atlantic Charter, modeled after the joint statement made by Prime Minister Winston Churchill and former President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941 to set out their goals for the world post-World War II.
- They are also expected to discuss global vaccination efforts, climate change and reopening travel between the U.S. and the U.K.
In photos
An SUV carrying Biden from Tregenna Castle to the Carbis Bay Hotel. Photo: Ben Birchall/PA Images via Getty Images
Johnson and his wife Carrie stand with Biden and first lady Jill Biden as they look at the view outside the Carbis Bay Hotel. Photo: Toby Melville-WPA Pool/Getty Images
Johnson and Biden view documents relating to the original Atlantic Charter. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
Biden and Johnson joke with the press ahead of their private meeting. Photo: Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.