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Obama After E.U. Vote: ‘The People of the United Kingdom Have Spoken’ Obama Says ‘Special Relationship’ With Britain Will Endure
(about 5 hours later)
SAN FRANCISCO — President Obama on Friday said he respected the decision by British voters to leave the European Union, insisting that the move would not change the United State’s relationship with the United Kingdom. PALO ALTO, Calif. — President Obama on Friday said he was confident that Britain would make an “orderly” exit from the European Union following a vote by Britons to withdraw from the bloc, and that its “special relationship” with the United States would endure.
“The people of the United Kingdom have spoken, and we respect their decision,” Mr. Obama said in a statement here in California, where he was to attend a summit on global entrepreneurship on Friday. “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.” Mr. Obama, speaking at Stanford University at a global entrepreneurship summit meeting, said he had spoken with Prime Minister David Cameron, an opponent of the exit who announced his resignation in the wake of Thursday’s vote, as well as with Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany.
Mr. Obama, who had argued vociferously for Britain to remain a part of Europe only to see his position repudiated by the majority of voters, said the United States would also maintain a strong relationship with the European Union, which he said “has done so much to promote stability, stimulate economic growth, and foster the spread of democratic values and ideals across the continent and beyond.” “I’m confident that the United Kingdom is committed to an orderly transition out of the E.U.,” Mr. Obama told an audience of about 1,700 entrepreneurs, investors, academics, and other guests invited by the White House.
The president said his administration would stay in close contact with Mr. Cameron’s in the coming days as that process took hold.
“One thing that will not change is the special relationship,” Mr. Obama said. “That will endure.”
Mr. Obama said he discussed with Ms. Merkel the ramifications of the vote outside of Britain.
“We agreed that the United States and our European allies will work closely together in the weeks and months ahead,” Mr. Obama said.
The results of the British referendum, he said, “speaks to the ongoing changes and challenges raised by globalization.”
Mr. Obama had argued vociferously for Britain to remain a part of Europe only to see his position repudiated by the majority of voters. In a statement Friday, he praised the European Union, which he said “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,” he said.“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,” he said.
The statement came as world financial markets reeled from the results of the referendum and after Prime Minister David Cameron announced his resignation. Mr. Obama and his top advisers, who spent Thursday night warily watching returns from the United Kingdom, were struggling to make sense of the implications of a result many of them did not believe would materialize. The statement came as world financial markets reeled from the results of the referendum and after Mr. Cameron announced his resignation. Mr. Obama and his top advisers, who spent Thursday night warily watching returns from Britain, were struggling to make sense of the implications of a result many of them did not believe would materialize.
Mr. Obama on Friday is scheduled to join with Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook founder who is perhaps the best-known face of American entrepreneurship and innovation, to promote his administration’s efforts to help technology start-ups in the United States and around the world. Mr. Obama on Friday joined with Mark Zuckerberg, the Facebook founder who is perhaps the best-known face of American entrepreneurship and innovation, to promote his administration’s efforts to help technology start-ups in the United States and around the world.
But Mr. Obama’s final Global Entrepreneurship Summit at Stanford University is unfolding under the shadow of uncertainty and anxiety. The British referendum has underlined an intense strain of antipathy to globalization gripping voters there, and United States financial markets were in sharp decline.But Mr. Obama’s final Global Entrepreneurship Summit at Stanford University is unfolding under the shadow of uncertainty and anxiety. The British referendum has underlined an intense strain of antipathy to globalization gripping voters there, and United States financial markets were in sharp decline.
That is hardly the symbolism Mr. Obama was aiming for when he arrived in San Jose on Thursday evening, looking forward to a day of mingling with entrepreneurs, inventors and venture capitalists who typify his vision of how technology can drive social change, create economic opportunity and even foster diplomacy.That is hardly the symbolism Mr. Obama was aiming for when he arrived in San Jose on Thursday evening, looking forward to a day of mingling with entrepreneurs, inventors and venture capitalists who typify his vision of how technology can drive social change, create economic opportunity and even foster diplomacy.
On Friday, he is scheduled to hold a public discussion with Mr. Zuckerberg via Facebook Live, a streaming video platform on the social media network, and a conversation with entrepreneurs around the world on Google Portal, a virtual conference-calling application. On Friday, he held a public discussion with Mr. Zuckerberg via Facebook Live, a streaming video platform on the social media network, and a conversation with entrepreneurs around the world on Google Portal, a virtual conference-calling application.
They are the latest technological milestones for a president who loves to revel in his geekiness and offer himself as a public example of the power of innovation, from his omnipresent iPad to his presidential Twitter account.They are the latest technological milestones for a president who loves to revel in his geekiness and offer himself as a public example of the power of innovation, from his omnipresent iPad to his presidential Twitter account.
Mr. Obama is the first president to use Facebook – he chose a video distributed via the social media network to endorse Hillary Clinton earlier this month – and has yoked his administration ever closer to Silicon Valley, a popular destination for his senior advisers after they leave the White House and one of his favorite recruiting grounds. Mr. Obama is the first president to use Facebook — he chose a video distributed via the social media network to endorse Hillary Clinton earlier this month — and has yoked his administration ever closer to Silicon Valley, a popular destination for his senior advisers after they leave the White House and one of his favorite recruiting grounds.
He dined privately on Thursday night at an upscale San Francisco restaurant with technology titans including the venture capitalists John Doerr and Chamath Palihapitiya, the LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, and the entrepreneur outreach executives Elizabeth Gore of Dell and Mary Grove of Google. John Hennessy, the president of Stanford University, also attended and will introduce Mr. Obama on Friday.He dined privately on Thursday night at an upscale San Francisco restaurant with technology titans including the venture capitalists John Doerr and Chamath Palihapitiya, the LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, and the entrepreneur outreach executives Elizabeth Gore of Dell and Mary Grove of Google. John Hennessy, the president of Stanford University, also attended and will introduce Mr. Obama on Friday.
The president has prioritized technological innovation during his time in office, promoting policies designed to foster it, including mammoth trade deals with Asia and Europe, and investing federal dollars in programs to train and support entrepreneurship.The president has prioritized technological innovation during his time in office, promoting policies designed to foster it, including mammoth trade deals with Asia and Europe, and investing federal dollars in programs to train and support entrepreneurship.
But he has also conceded that much of the political upheaval gripping disaffected American voters and propelling the presidential campaign of Donald J. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, is driven by fear of technology-driven globalization and anger at job losses prompted by automation.But he has also conceded that much of the political upheaval gripping disaffected American voters and propelling the presidential campaign of Donald J. Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, is driven by fear of technology-driven globalization and anger at job losses prompted by automation.