Cameron snubs Republicans on US trip
By Ian Dunt Follow @IanDunt
David Cameron will avoid the gang of Republicans fighting to become presidential candidate on a trip to the US this week, in favour of a closer relationship with Barack Obama.
The prime minister will skip meetings with Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich andRon Paul in favour of a visit to a college basketball game in Dayton, Ohio, with the president.
Ohio will be a key swing state in this November's US presidential elections. It is unusual for a foreign leader to accompany an incumbent in what could be interpreted as a campaign stop.
But with the Republican race looking increasingly in disarray, Mr Cameron's handlers may have concluded that he would be wise to hold President Obama close, given that he is highly likely to still be president by the time the race is over.
Nevertheless, the decision contrasts with that of his predecessor, Gordon Brown, who met Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for talks when they were campaigning for the nomination.
It also contrasts with President Obama himself, who held talks with Mr Cameron when he was opposition leader – an event which reportedly saw him conclude the Tory leader was "a lightweight".
That has set the tone for friendly but arm's-length relations between London and Washington during the Obama-Cameron years.
Mr Cameron will still be the first foreign leader to fly on presidential aircraft Air Force One, however, on his way to the basketball game.
Mr Cameron will be invited on to the White House lawn by 6,000 specially invited guests and a state dinner on Wednesday will see high-profile Britons in the US, including golfer Rory Mcllroy and actor Damian Lewis, star of current hit series Homeland, attend.
Downing Street insisted it was not snubbing the Republican candidates by avoiding a meeting and that the schedule of the trip was arranged by the White House.
But Mr Cameron will be relieved to have avoided the increasingly bitter battle between the men fighting to secure the Republican nomination, despite the party's close ties with the Conservatives.
Mr Santorum, who has won support among evangelicals and right-wingers for his extreme conservatives stance – including one statement which suggested the separate of church and state made him "sick" – won Kansas over the weekend.
The more moderate Mr Romney remains the frontrunner, although few analysts believe he could beat President Obama in the eventual fight for the White House.
It is not the first time Mr Cameron has avoided opposition politicians on the world stage. Last month, Mr Cameron specifically did not meet French socialist candidate François Hollande during his trip to London.
In the Commons he said this was standard practise, although he admitted he had not always stuck to it.
