♪♪ (four ruffles and flourishes) ♪♪
Announcer: Ladies and gentlemen, the President of the United States
and Mrs. Michelle Obama.
(cheers)
♪♪ (Hail to the Chief) ♪♪
(drum roll)
♪♪ (Herald Trumpets) ♪♪
(drum roll)
♪♪ (Herald Trumpets) ♪♪
Announcer: Ladies and gentlemen, The National Anthem of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland followed by
The National Anthem of the United States.
♪♪ (Herald Trumpets) ♪♪
(canon fire)
♪♪ (God Save the Queen) ♪♪
♪♪ (The Star-Spangled Banner) ♪♪
♪♪ (Under The Double Eagle March) ♪♪
♪♪ (Fife and Drum Corps) ♪♪
The President: Good morning, everyone.
Audience: Good morning!
The President: The storied relationship between the United States
and the United Kingdom is steeped in tradition.
And last night, as President, I shared with the Prime Minister a
uniquely American tradition of bracketology.
(laughter)
March Madness.
He's learned to appreciate one of our great national pastimes.
His team has told me he has decided to install a hoop
at 10 Downing Street.
(laughter)
Today, we carry on another tradition -- an official visit
for one of our closest friends and our dearest allies.
Prime Minister Cameron, Mrs. Cameron,
members of the British delegation -- on behalf
of the American people, it is my great honor to welcome you
to the United States.
(applause)
David, Samantha -- on behalf of Michelle and myself,
we welcome you to the White House.
And, Samantha, just let me say that we are delighted that
you've made America your first official foreign trip.
(applause)
It's now been 200 years since the British came here,
to the White House -- under somewhat
different circumstances.
(laughter)
They made quite an impression.
(laughter)
They really lit up the place.
(laughter)
But we moved on.
(laughter)
And today, like so many Presidents and Prime Ministers
before us, we meet to reaffirm one of the greatest alliances
the world has ever known.
This visit is also an opportunity to reciprocate
the extraordinary and gracious hospitality shown to us by Her
Majesty Queen Elizabeth, by David and Samantha,
and by the British people during our visit to London last year.
And we are proud that this visit comes as Her Majesty begins her
Diamond Jubilee, celebrating 60 extraordinary years on the
British throne.
(applause)
It is remarkable to consider: Down the decades we've seen
nations rise and fall; wars fought and peace defended;
a city divided, a wall come down;
countries imprisoned behind an Iron Curtain, then liberated.
We've seen the demise of a Cold War and the rise of new threats;
the transition from an Industrial Revolution to an
Information Age where new technologies empower our
citizens and our adversaries like never before.
Our world has been transformed over and over,
and it will be again.
Yet, through the grand sweep of history,
through all its twists and turns,
there is one constant -- the rock-solid alliance between
the United States and the United Kingdom.
(applause)
And the reason is simple.
We stand together and we work together and we bleed together
and we build together, in good times and --
(no audio)
-- is a safer and better and more just place.
Our alliance is essential -- it is indispensable -- to the
security and prosperity that we seek not only for our own
citizens, but for people around the world.
And that is why, as President, I've made strengthening this
alliance and our alliances around the world one of my
highest foreign policy priorities.
And because we have, I can stand here today and say with pride
and with confidence -- and I believe with David's agreement
-- that the relationship between the United States and the United
Kingdom is the strongest that it has ever been.
(applause)
And so in the sunlight of this beautiful morning,
with children from both nations in attendance --
(applause)
-- we reaffirm the enduring values in which our alliance
is forever rooted.
We believe that every person, if they're willing to work hard,
if they play by the rules, deserve a fair shot,
deserve a chance to succeed.
So in these tough economic times,
we stand united in our determination to create
the jobs that put our people back to work,
in expanding trade that is both free and fair,
and in fighting for a global economy where every nation
plays by the same rules.
We believe that our citizens should be able to live free
from fear.
So, like generations before us, we stand united in the defense
of our countries and against those who would terrorize our
people, or endanger the globe with the world's
most dangerous weapons.
We believe in the universal rights of all people,
so we stand united in our support for those who seek
to choose their leaders and forge their future,
including the brave citizens of the Middle East and North
Africa, who deserve the same God-given rights and freedoms
as people everywhere.
And we believe in the inherent dignity of every human being.
So we will stand united in advancing the developments that
lift people and nations out of poverty -- the new crops that
feed a village, the care that saves a mother in childbirth,
the vaccine that allows a child to live a long and healthy life.
This is what we believe.
This is who we are.
This is what we do together, what we achieve together every
single day.
And this is the alliance that we renew today -- guided by the
interests we share, grounded in the values that we cherish
not just for our time but for all time.
And finally, I would just note that while this is not the first
official visit of my presidency, it is one of the few where I
have not had to pause for translation.
(laughter)
We Americans and Brits speak the same language -- most
of the time.
(laughter)
So let me just say, David, we are chuffed to bits that
you are here --
(laughter)
-- and I'm looking forward to a great natter.
I'm confident that together we're going to keep the
relationship between our two great nations
absolutely top-notch.
(laughter)
David, Samantha -- the warmest of welcomes from Michelle and
myself, but more importantly, from the American people.
We are honored to have you here.
(applause)
Prime Minister Cameron: President Obama, First Lady, Mr. Vice President,
members of both Cabinets, guests of honor, ladies and gentlemen:
Thank you for such an incredibly warm welcome.
And I have to say, Barack, with that spectacular command of our
shared language --
(laughter)
-- with all these Union flags and with so many friends at
home, you are really making me feel very
at home here in Washington.
So I am a little embarrassed, as I stand here,
to think that 200 years ago --
(laughter)
-- my ancestors tried to burn this place down.
(laughter)
Now, looking around me, I can see you've got the place a
little better defended today.
(laughter)
You're clearly not taking any risks with the Brits this time.
(laughter)
And thank you also for the lessons last night.
I will leave America with some new words -- alley-oops --
(laughter)
-- brackets, fast breaks, and who knows -- maybe that hoop
will be installed in Downing Street after all.
It was a great evening.
Thank you very much indeed.
Now, of course, since that unfortunate episode 200 years
ago, generations of British and American servicemen and
women have fought together.
Our grandparents fought in the same campaign.
My grandfather, wounded a few days after D-Day,
the greatest-ever British and American operation in history.
And yours, Barack, serving under General Patton as the allies
swept through France.
Whether it is defeating the Nazis,
standing up to the Soviets, defending the Korean Peninsula,
or hunting down al Qaeda in Afghanistan,
there can be no more tangible illustration of our two nations
defending our values and advancing our interests
than the mutual sacrifice made by our servicemen and women.
And let us once again pay tribute to their valor,
their courage, their professionalism and their
dedication here in Washington today.
(applause)
From the Balkans to Baghdad, across the world and across
the decades, we have been proud to serve with you.
When the chips are down, Britain and America know that we can
always count on each other because we are allies not just
prepared to say the right thing, but to do the right thing,
and to do it in the right way -- promoting our values,
standing up for our ideals.
The partnership between our countries, between our peoples,
is the most powerful partnership for progress that the world has
ever seen.
That is why whenever an American President and a British Prime
Minister get together, there is a serious and important agenda
to work through.
And today is no different.
Afghanistan, Iran, the Arab Spring, the need for trade,
for growth, for jobs in the world economy,
the biggest issues in the world -- that is our agenda today.
But what makes our relationship so vigorous and so lasting is
that it draws its strength from roots far deeper and broader
than government or the military.
It is a meeting of kindred spirits.
When the world's brightest minds want to generate the innovations
that will make tomorrow more free and more fair,
they look to our great universities like Harvard and
Stanford, Cambridge and Oxford.
When the most audacious and entrepreneurial philanthropists,
like the Gates Foundation, want not just to give out to charity
but to eliminate polio and other avoidable diseases so that no
child in our world should die unnecessarily,
they find partners across the Atlantic in the British aid
agencies, like Save the Children, Oxfam,
and Christian Aid.
And when a great innovator like Sir Tim Berners-Lee wanted a
partner to make the World Wide Web a reality,
he turned to America.
Why?
Because he knew that it was in America that he would find that
same spirit of creativity, innovation,
and risk-taking that defines our unique approach to enterprise
and to business.
He's not alone.
In 2010, transatlantic partnerships produced eight
of the nine Nobel prizes in science.
Foreign direct investment between Britain and America
is the largest in the world and now stands at $900 billion.
This creates and sustains around a million jobs each
side of the Atlantic.
And it provides a strong foundation for bilateral
trade worth nearly $200 billion a year.
In fact, American investment in the UK is eight times larger
than China; and UK investment in America is nearly 140 times
that of China.
So, yes, the world is changing at a faster rate than ever
before, and the ways we will influence events are
changing with it.
But one thing remains unchanged -- the ceaseless back-and-forth
between our two nations through ideas, friendship, business,
and shared endeavor.
And that's why I believe that we can be sure that in 50 years'
time, an American President and a British Prime Minister will
stand on this very spot, just as we do now; they will stand here,
as we do, for freedom and for enterprise: our two countries --
the united states of liberty and enterprise.
That is why I'm so pleased to be here today,
to celebrate an essential relationship that, as you say,
has never been stronger, and to work with you to make sure
we deliver that, and to make our countries closer
and closer still.
Thank you.
(applause)
♪♪ (Herald Trumpets) ♪♪
(drumming)
♪♪ (Herald Trumpets) ♪♪
♪♪ (Stars and Stripes) ♪♪
