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CNN International: U.S. President Biden Speaks At Ulster University In Belfast. Aired 8-8:30a ET

Aired April 12, 2023 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[08:00:00]

JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: At the time, it seemed so distant, some of it. It seemed so distant.

First at the ballot box and every day since, the acts of seeing each other through the lens of a common humanity -- which, again, when I first came here as a young senator, didn't seem like it was realistic.

It took pioneering women across all communities and parties that said enough, enough and demanded change as well as a seat at the negotiating table, including through the Northern Ireland Women's Coalition.

And it took a determined effort of my good friend who -- someone who embodies a country's commitment to all the people, all the people in this region, Senator George Mitchell. And, you know, his time serving as Special Envoy for Northern Ireland is one of the great examples in history of the right person for the right job at the right time, in my view.

I think sometimes, especially when the distance of history, we forget just how hard-earned, how astounding that peace was at the moment. It shifted the political gravity in our world. It literally, it shifted the political gravity.

In 1998, it was the longest-running conflict in Europe since the end of World War II. Thousands of families had been affected by the Troubles. The losses were real. The pain was personal. I need not tell many people in this audience.

Every person killed in the Troubles left an empty chair at that dining-room table and a hole in the heart that was never filled for the ones they lost. Peace was not inevitable. We can't ever forget that. There was nothing inevitable about it.

As George Mitchell often said, the negotiations had, quote, "Seven hundred days of failure and one day of success." Seven hundred days of failure and one day of success. But they kept going because George and all the many others never stopped believing that success was possible.

And I want all of you to know, especially the young people in the audience today. And don't jump, OK? Oh, I didn't see you all the way up there. As my father would say, "Please, excuse my back. I apologize." But all kidding aside, the American people were with you -- are with you every step of the way. It's real. Those of you who've been to America know that there is a large population that is invested in what happens here, that cares a great deal about what happens here.

Supporting the people of Northern Ireland, protecting the peace, preserving the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement is a priority for Democrats and Republicans alike in the United States, and that is unusual today because we've been very divided in our parties. This is something that brings Washington together. It brings America together.

I spoke about this with Northern Ireland's political leaders, as well as the Taoiseach, at our St. Patrick's Day celebration at the White House. This has been a key focus for me throughout my career.

I remember working as a senator to see how the United States could support and encourage bit by bit any moves toward peace. I got elected in 1972 as a 29-year-old kid to the United States Senate, and it was just the start of it. I mean, it seemed like it was a goal that was so far away.

I remember coming here, as I said, in '91, seeing this city divided and barricaded. Then, in '94, when the cease-fire was declared, it was like a sea change. The tide of violence began to recede. Hope rolling in. In 1998, overwhelming joy.

It's hard to communicate just how deeply invested your success -- in your success the people across the United States are. And those of you who've been there know it. You know it. I'm not making this up. This is real. This is -- it's almost -- people can taste it.

The family ties and the pride in those Ulster Scots immigrants who helped found and build my country. They run very deep, very deep.

Men born in Ulster were among those who signed the Declaration of Independence in the United States, pledging their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor for freedom's cause.

The man who printed the revolutionary document was John Dunlap. He hailed from County Tyrone. And countless, countless others established new lives of opportunity across the Atlantic -- planting farms, founding communities, starting businesses -- never forgetting their connection to this island.

As a matter of fact, as you walk into my office in the Oval Office in the United States' capital, guess what? You know who founded and designed and built the White House? An Irishman. An Irish -- no, not a joke. Not a joke.

[08:05:17]

Passing it down, generation after generation. Your history is our history. But even more important, your future is America's future.

Today's Belfast is the beating heart of Northern Ireland, and it's poised to drive unprecedented economic opportunity and investment from communities across the U.K., across Ireland, and across the United States.

The simple truth is that peace and economic opportunity go together. Peace and economic opportunity go together.

In the 25 years since the Good Friday Agreement, Northern Ireland's gross domestic product has literally doubled, doubled. And I predict to you, if things continue to move in the right direction, it will more than triple.

There are scores of major American corporations wanting to come here, wanting to invest. Many have already made homes in Northern Ireland, employing over 30,000 people. And in just the past decade, American business has generated almost $2 billion in investment in the region. $2 billion.

Today, Northern Ireland is a churn of creativity, art, poetry, theater. Some of our favorite television shows and movies are filmed here, as you know. And I understand the star of the recent Oscar- winning film and someone -- a Belfast barista, James Martin, is here today. James, where are you?

(APPLAUSE)

I got to meet James, and I got my picture taken. I'm going to go home and brag to my daughter.

Cruise ships packed with tourists fill Belfast Port. And young people, instead of fleeing for opportunities elsewhere, can see their futures and careers for themselves that speak to unlimited possibilities here.

How many of you have heard over the years, those of you- -- closer to my age, "Mom, Dad, there's nothing here for me. I'm going to move. I'm going to leave. I got to go." Well, it's not happening now.

So, it's up to us to keep this going, to keep building on the work that has been done every day for the last 25 year. To sustain the peace, unleash this incredible economic opportunity, which is just beginning. I promise you. You think I'm joking. It's just beginning. We get this -- keep it going.

We all know there is more we can do together. You know, there is so much energy and dynamism, especially among young people, who are starting their own businesses, blazing their own trails, connecting to the global community of entrepreneurs.

And young people in Northern Ireland are on the cutting edge of sectors that are going to define so much of the future -- cyber, technology, clean energy, life sciences. Here in Northern Ireland, programs like Young Entrepreneur -- Young Enterprise Northern Ireland, helping thousands of young people each year gain skills and pursue the goals -- their goals as entrepreneurs.

That's why I asked Joe Kennedy, my new Special Envoy in Northern Ireland of Economic Affairs, to help supercharge that work to bring more businesses, more investment, more opportunity here to Northern Ireland, and to help realize the enormous economic potential of this region.

Because I'd note parenthetically, when that happens here, it gives faith to people around the world. If it can be done here, it can be done in my community. Not a joke. The world is changing. It's changing drastically, and it presents enormous opportunity but also significant dangers.

To that end, later this year, Joe is going to be leading a trade delegation of American companies to Northern Ireland.

Now, I know the U.K.'s departure from the European Union created complex challenges here in Northern Ireland. And I encouraged the leaders of the U.K. and E.U. to address the issues in a way that served Northern Ireland's best interests.

I deeply appreciate the personal leadership of Prime Minister Sunak and European Commissioner von der Leyen to reach an agreement.

The Windsor Framework addresses the practical realities of Brexit and the essential -- and it's an essential step to ensuring hard-earned peace and progress of the Good Friday Agreement is -- that they're preserved and strengthened.

[08:10:01]

You know, the negotiators listened to business leaders across the U.K. and Ireland who shared what they needed to succeed. And I believe the stability and predictability offered by this framework will encourage greater investment in Northern Ireland, significant investment in Northern Ireland.

I come from a little state where -- the state of Delaware, back home, that has more corporations that are registered in that state than every other state in the Union combined. So I know a little bit about corporate attitudes.

All the immense progress we see around us was built through conversation and compromise, discussion and debate, voting and inclusion. It's an incredible attestation to the power of democracy to deliver the needs for all the people.

And now I know better than most how hard democracy can be at times. We in the United States have firsthand experience how fragile even longstanding democratic institutions can be. You saw what happened on January the 6th in my country.

We learn anew with every generation that democracy needs champions. When I went to college, I was a political science major and history major. We were taught every generation has to fight to preserve democracies. I didn't believe it at the time. I just thought it was automatic. We had this great democracy. What would we need to do?

As a friend, I hope it's not too presumptuous for me to say that I believe democratic institutions established through the Good Friday Agreement remain critical for the future of Northern Ireland. It's a decision for you to make, not for me to make. But it seems to me they're related.

An effective, devolved government that reflects the people of Northern Ireland and is accountable to them. A government that works to find ways through hard problems together is going to draw even greater opportunity in this region.

So I hope that the Assembly and the Executive will soon be restored -- that's a judgment for you to make, not me, but I hope it happens -- along with the institutions that facilitate North-South and East-West relations, all of which are vital pieces of the Good Friday Agreement.

For in politics, no matter what divides us, if we look hard enough, there are always areas that are going to bring us together if we look hard enough. Standing for peace, rejecting political violence must be one of those things.

So I want to once more recognize the way the leaders of Northern Ireland's major political parties come together in the wake of the attempted murder of Detective Chief Inspector Caldwell to show that the enemies of peace will not prevail.

Northern Ireland will not go back, pray to God.

The attack was a hard reminder that there will always be those who seek to destroy rather than rebuild. But the lesson of the Good Friday Agreement is this, in times when things seem fragile or easily broken, that is when hope and hard work are needed the most. That's when we must make our theme repair, repair.

And in the holy Easter season, this season, when all Christians celebrate renewal and life, the Good Friday Agreement showed us that there is hope for repair even in the most awful breakages.

You know, it helped people all around the world to hope for renewal and progress in their own lives. And most of all, it allowed an entire generation of young people in Northern Ireland and across the U.K. and in the Republic of Ireland to grow up in a society mended by connection, made stronger by independence -- interdependence and respect.

Young people like Gabrielle, who we just heard from earlier. Her success and her opportunities have been underwritten by the Good Friday Agreement.

Young people like Jordan Graham, born less than three weeks after the agreement was signed in 1998. His whole life, his whole life has unfolded under the wing of peace, which means, not quite 25 years of age, he's been able to build an expertise in branding and marketing that he's used to help grow local businesses, support startups, and consult for charities.

Young people like Aimee Clint, born in 2000, whose parents like to tell the story about how she came home from her first day of secondary school and asked, "What's the difference between a Protestant and a Catholic?" "What's the difference between a Protestant and a Catholic?" She didn't grow up thinking in sectarian divides. She grew up thinking about how she could support her beloved brother and other children who have autism.

[08:15:06]

Today, Aimee's social enterprise has donated more than 5,000 copies of her book to schools across Northern Ireland to help children better understand autism and to learn to treat others with kindness and respect.

That's the real power of the Good Friday Agreement -- compassion, compassion. It changed how this entire region sees itself.

In the words of Morrisey, Belfast's first poet laureate, "What's left is dark and quiet. But book-ended by light, as when Dorothy opens the dull cabin door and happens out -- what happens outside is technicolor. What happens outside is technicolor."

This is place is transformed by peace, made technicolor by peace, made whole by peace.

So today, I come to Belfast to pledge to all the people of Northern Ireland. The United States of America will continue to be your partner in building the future the young people of our world deserve.

It matters to us, to Americans, and to me personally. It genuinely matters if you travel in my country.

So, let's celebrate 25 extraordinary years by recommitting to renewal, repair. By making this exceptional peace the birthright of every child in Northern Ireland for all the days to come. That's what we should be doing. God willing, you'll be able to do it.

Thank you all for listening. And may God bring you the peace we need. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you very much.

(APPLAUSE)

BIANCA NOBILO, CNN ANCHOR: Let's bring in CNN's Nic Robertson, who is in Belfast to discuss his reaction to that speech. Nic, as ever, the political context here is extremely fraught and significant. Also, the President is operating within a media environment where he's had -- what his team has had to say that he's not anti-British today.

He's offending some people on different sides of this. Do you think that that was a conciliatory speech and one that might encourage the restoration of Stormont?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It was certainly the best I think that the President could do. You know, the Democratic Unionist Party, the party that won't join into Stormont at the moment. They have a lot of political challenges. And they've said that they won't be pushed and persuaded by the President, that they'll look at the political environment for them.

There's local elections coming up. It's unlikely they'll make a decision or an announcement to accept the winter framework and go into a power sharing government ahead of those elections. There's too much at stake for them. But I think President Biden certainly tried to overcome the perceptions that is just pro, the nationalist community here.

I mean, the reach out on loyalist (ph) community began pretty much at the beginning by recounting his own history, Captain George Biden, he said, a grown up in England was an Englishman, a former U.S. -- former ambassador had reminded President Biden of that, bought him a picture of Captain George Biden, you know, back from the 19th century. The President wasn't sure if it was 1842 or 1828.

I think there was that moment -- there was another moment that I thought really, the President really reached out to the Unionist community and the loyalist part of it, the sort of harder line party, if you will. It was the loyalist paramilitaries that also went on a ceasefire, and they had some of their fighters turned to politicians.

So when President Biden singled out a few names from the peace agreement, the progenitors in Northern Ireland, the peace agreement and either side day, John Hume and David Trimble, the SDLP leader, the Ulster Unionist Party leader.

The next name he mentioned was David Ervine, not a lot of people might have reached for that name. David Ervine was a charismatic politician from the progressive Unionist Party. He had been a former paramilitary on the loyalist side.

So I think, again, President Biden was reaching out to that community saying you are not forgotten. And then again, I think the words that he used when he spoke about his view that the Good Friday Agreement needs to be shored up supported by getting the power sharing government up and running. But he said I don't want to appear to be too presumptuous.

And I think that was President Biden saying, look, I don't want to pressure you into it. I know that I can be criticized for this. That here's why what I think. So I think the language that he used and the way that he teed up his own identity and reached out across the community divide, I think, that was his effort.

[08:20:09]

I think the reality of the situation is Jeffrey Donaldson, sir Jeffrey Donaldson, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, is unlikely to commit one way or another on the winter framework until after those local elections in May.

NOBILO: And, Nic, obviously, it's a delicate political situation, to say the least, this is actually quite a short trip a very short trip of the President to Northern Ireland. What, if any, tangible impact do you think you can leave behind from a trip that has been really hyped up for many months?

ROBERTSON: The tangible thing that you'll leave behind is envoy to Northern Ireland, Joe Kennedy III whose remit is all about business. And, of course, that was the other part of President Biden speeches is what we're expecting.

The idea that encouraged the economy here, the President spoke about how the economy in Northern Ireland has doubled, almost doubled over the past 25 years. And he believed that it could triple again. He said, there are many, many U.S. businesses that would like to invest in here.

So that tangible thing that President Biden will leave behind will be that special envoy, Joe Kennedy, to try to infuse American investors and businesses in Northern Ireland. And there are plenty of them here already in Northern Ireland, as we saw when we were out talking to business leaders here, and CEOs of various companies.

They feel the business here is doing well, and there is plenty of opportunity. So I think that's the tangible -- that speech was aspirational. I think we're going to have to wait to see how that can be delivered on.

And let's not forget, Jeffrey Donaldson, the Democratic Unionist Party leader was in the White House, will have had conversations around St. Patrick's Day with the President. But, you know, don't expect immediate results but there may be a trickledown effect.

NOBILO: Nic Robertson for us in Belfast, thank you so much.

Still to come, we stay with President Biden's trip to Northern Ireland and ask how much his Irish roots have shaped his politics.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NOBILO: He's known as the most Irish of U.S. presidents, but how of Joe Biden's Irish roots shaped his political identity? Mr. Biden describes himself as Irish-American and often refers to his Irish ancestry through his comments which have sometimes been known to get him into trouble.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. Biden, a quick word for the BBC.

BIDEN: The BBC, I'm Irish.

I just want you to know, I may be Irish but I'm not stupid. I'm married Dominic Giacoppa's daughter.

And he used to have an expression. He said if you're lucky enough to be Irish, you're lucky enough.

Every St. Patrick's Day, every Irishman goes out to find another Irishman to make a speech to. Well, that's why I'm here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NOBILO: The U.S. President will leave Northern Ireland next hour and head south of the border to the Republic of Ireland. He'll explore parts of his homeland and meet distant family.

And from the U.S.'s most Irish President to CNN's most Irish correspondent, CNN's Donie O'Sullivan joins us now from Ireland. Donie, tell us how the President's visit is being received by the people.

[08:25:07]

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Bianca. Yes, we are here in Carlingford, which is just south of the border with Northern Ireland and Biden -- the President is expected here in just a few hours. As you can see behind me, the town is decked out in American flag, because there is a lot of excitement here.

This is just part of the country where some of his ancestors are from, so he's going to be visiting here. He's going to go to Dublin tonight, and tomorrow, he will be addressing the Irish parliament. And then he's going to make his way to his other cousins on the west coast of Ireland, on the Atlantic coast, and deliver a speech there on Friday.

So there's a lot of excitement here. And, you know, there is a genuine, I think, connection between Biden and Ireland. He's been here multiple times as vice president, as a private citizen. And he's really continuing a tradition that was started by John F. Kennedy, America's last Catholic, Irish Catholic president who came here 60 years ago, in search of his Irish roots.

And since then, Reagan's come, of course, we saw Obama come a few years ago. And now Biden.

NOBILO: And Donie, how influential potentially problematic even is this emphasis on Biden's personal ancestry and connection? There's been a bit of chatter in media over here about Biden emphasizing or prioritizing these personal events rather than the political discussions, which seem to have been a bit confused in their choreography?

O'SULLIVAN: Yes. I mean, obviously, in -- particularly in the British press, there has been a lot of talk about how it can be viewed as a snub, that he is coming to Ireland for multiple days to see cousins, and he's not going to the carnation next month.

You know, I think the White House has pointed out that the First Lady will be attending. But this is, you know, something we have seen from Biden down through the years. As you showed in those clips there, you know, occasionally making jokes that would be more inclined towards nationalists and Republicans in Ireland, which of course, I think he was very careful, I'm sure, to stay away from that, as -- in his time in Northern Ireland this week.

NOBILO: Donie O'Sullivan, thank you so much. Good to see you there.

Thanks for joining me here on CNN Newsroom. I'm Bianca Nobilo in London. World Sport with Amanda Davies is up next for you.

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[08:30:00]