President Joe Biden is catching flak for taking a selfie with former Irish nationalist party Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams during a trip to Ireland.
Adams, one of the most recognizable and controversial figures in Irish politics, has denied being a member of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), a paramilitary group believed to be responsible for about 1,700 deaths during a 25-year campaign against British rule in Northern Ireland, according to the BBC.
He played a key role in moving Sinn Fein away from the IRA and helped secure an agreement that largely brought an end to the terror campaign.
On Thursday, Adams, 74, posted a selfie on Twitter of himself and Biden, captioning the photo, "A President Biden selfie."
The photo fueled further accusations that Biden was anti-British, a claim the White House refuted.
"The president has been very actively engaged throughout his career dating back to when he was a senator in the peace process in Northern Ireland and that has involved meetings with leaders of all of Northern Ireland parties from both of the two main communities," Senior Director for Europe at the National Security Council Amanda Sloat said in a press conference. "The UK remains one of our strongest and closest allies and it's difficult, frankly, to think of an issue in the world that we are not closely cooperating with the British on."
Sloat insisted the two countries would continue to work together.
"I think his message to the DUP and to all the political leaders is going to be the continued strong support for seeing the peace process move forward here and the strong desire by this president to increase US investment in Northern Ireland to take advantage of the vast economic potential."
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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