Do you guys feel like the US and UK are drifting apart, or is it just the internet making it look that way?

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Hyrules_Saviour@reddit

America is the root of all evil in this world as far as I'm concerned. I wish you guys were less unhinged but I'm low-key glad you're getting bitten by your bullshit foreign policy and military industrial complex

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Injurious_Beans@reddit

I actually feel very sorry for US right now for being so duped by a violent narcissist funded by super rich disruptive agents. We're also in danger of doing the same in the UK, and therefore need to watch and learn.

I feel no affinity for those merkins doubling down, but my heart goes out to my US brothers and sisters who have realised their mistake. They can, and should, act to improve the situation, domestically and internationally, but we just don't see this happening through our media channels. Why not?

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MirrorTotal893@reddit

That special relationship was only ever one way.

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JPMaybe@reddit

Fr we're just Airstrip One

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marigoldandpatchwork@reddit

I really wish we'd kick the Americans out of Mildenhall, Lakenheath and Fairford

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MrMikeJJ@reddit

I've been looking into our "special relationship"

I have always had the perception that the "special relationship" has always been, USA says jump, UK says how high. And when we ever ask or need something, we get told to kick rocks.

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Ok_Introduction_1882@reddit

Yes me too. Who needs it? Especially with a lunatic in charge.

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Major-Turn4746@reddit

I'm a merchant sailor that regularly has to visit US ports and on occasion use their airports. Even with all the correct documentation, including visas that I had to get from the US embassy in London, I have rarely had a what I would call a nice interaction. I've been detained without explanation, not for days but hours but even so I missed onward connections. I've experienced incredible rudeness, arrogance and complete lack of cooperation. Even had a brief incident where armed officials tried to board our ship, we have a no weapons policy that the rest of the world seems okay with but the Americans I've encountered are just so entitled and think their way is the only way. It was resolved only because our company capitulated to avoid a diplomatic incident.
I'm sure there are good ones out there, the person who posted this question seems reasonable. But for a 'special relationship' if there is one I have never witnessed it.

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Derfel60@reddit

Weve been apart since 1776. We were at war for the next 40ish years. America then refused to help during both world wars until they were attacked themselves, even using the Second World War to enrich themselves at our expense and force us to accept the Bretton-Woods agreement to usurp our position as foremost world power. After the Second World War they forced us to give up Suez and held secret talks with the Argies during the lead up to the Falklands War, then attempting to persuade us not to retaliate to the invasion of our territory. Then we were used for nonsensical wars in the Middle East where our young men were killed. Most recently there have been threats to invade Canada and Greenland and to leave NATO.

Does any of that sound like a special relationship to you? Sounds more like an abusive relationship to me.

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scottishsilversurfer@reddit

No, we hate the fascist trumpites

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Toffeemade@reddit

The barrage of frankly disgusting rhetoric from the current US administration (be clear; Blaire basically cast his eternal legacy as a war criminal laying down British lives in support of the W Bush Iraq war - to hear that negated is profoundly insulting), I think there is also currently a lot of careless talk from my (UK) side of the pond that ignores the very strong common history between our countries - see WW2. Trump will die, or loose the mid terms, or succumb to his very obvious ill health. The big issue is there is no obvious way out of the current impasse the US and Israel have blundered into in the Straight of Hormouz so it is difficult to see what the world will look like after.

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gracealmost@reddit

Genuinely wish we could drift apart faster and further. Our fellow Europeans are our cousins, to me it’s always been that way.

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ImpossibleOil8427@reddit

I see it more like other European countries are our siblings, sometimes we bicker but there’s love there and we’d defend them to outsiders.

(US)Americans are like that weird kid that lives across the street that occasionally we have to play with. They have cool toys and sometimes interesting things going on, that sometimes make it worth it.

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Subject-Bus2876@reddit

I was born in 1971 and in the 80s the US media brainwashed the rest of the world, and Americans, that America was the land of the free and that it was the greatest nation on earth.

As well as dubious Presidental leaders, I feel the advent of social media exposed the real America, a divided country with extreme poverty and extreme wealth. Social media has exposed to the rest of the world that the American education system is appalling. Americans are also waking up to the fact they have been lied to when they compare European health services, European employment benefits (annual leave, sickness pay, maternity leave) which are considerably generous than America's and so forth.

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mrshakeshaft@reddit

Culturally, we have much more in common with Europe than the USA. You shit clowns elected a fucking monster. He told you exactly what he was going to do and you did it anyway. Don’t give me any of that shit about “not all Americans”. The majority of Americans either actively voted for this or couldn’t be bothered to vote to stop him. The “special relationship” is gone. If it was ever even there. Even if you got rid of him tomorrow, nobody trusts you to not do something even worse next week. America is a mad dysfunctional mess pretending to be a cohesive nation. I’ve just read a quote from a senior politician thanking god for keeping the crashed airmen safe. Sorry, is this the same god who let 6m Jews die in concentration camps? The same god who gives children cancer? Fuck off, he’s now getting involved to save a couple of squaddies on a bombing raid? Give me strength . Fucking muppets, absolute fucking muppets

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Sea_Appointment8408@reddit

The relationship died when you guys voted for Trump a second time. It's not like any of this should come as a surprise, Project2025 was very public.

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crankypickle@reddit

Canadian here — “no one quite speaks the language quite like we do?” Really neighbour? I travel to the UK a fair bit. It’s not looking good.

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SheilaCool@reddit

I want to be as far away from Hollywood as possible. Its a scourge of humanity. Used to love the idea of the USA and now I doubt id even visit

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CoffeeForJasmine@reddit

I love America and the majority of Americans but I cannot stand your government and I genuinely feel that they are causing nothing but harm. DT is a lunatic and you guys need to stop allowing hate filled, senile old men to lead your country.

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Althar93@reddit

Outside of a common language, our respective cultures have always been VERY different. I do feel (and that holds true for most of my acquaintances) that the current political & economical climate has accelerated this drift tenfold.

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Acrobatic-Ad584@reddit

Never have done really, always thought Americans loud and and brash and false

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BuzzAllWin@reddit

Except those scottish Americans who are part of a clan and related to rob roy, we love them, very similar to the Irish

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ExpectedBehaviour@reddit

Oh yes. We Irish do love a Plastic Paddy...

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Current_Thing2244@reddit

Omg always, and Robert the Bruce. I have no idea how that started but it seems to be trendy to claim to be his descendant now. Absolute rocket munchers.

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chronicbint@reddit

You kinda used to be the cool uncle, now you are the drunk nonce uncle.

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OnyxBee@reddit

Why uncle?

If anything they are our wayward children, turned into shooters

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twentyone_cats@reddit

Everyone I know thinks America is the laughing stock of the world. So yeah, we don't want to associate with that.

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CharmingMeringue@reddit

I'm not sue exactly what 'special relationship' means, but with that senile, orange lunatic in charge I feel inclined to like or respect the USA than ever before.

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LordJebusVII@reddit

The Brits who stayed home weren't colonisers, the ones who stayed in the US and are the ancestors of modern Americans were the colonisers

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Powerful-Adagio6446@reddit

Well funnily enough we don't want to be an ally of a paedophilic president

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Upbeat-Storage9349@reddit

Who needs one when we have a royal.

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AceOfSpades532@reddit

At least ours isn’t the Head of State or Head of Government and he’s actually going to face some sort of legal consequence

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Powerful-Adagio6446@reddit

Also King Charles was friends with Saville, wasn’t he?

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Upbeat-Storage9349@reddit

I think Saville boasted about being able to contact Charles directly, it's been a while I've watched the documentary, but Saville appeared to have his fingers in many.. pies.

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Acrobatic-Ad584@reddit

I think it is difficult to maintain a meaningful relationship with someone who tariffs your exports, lambasts your choices on fossil fuels, doesn't seem to grasp the purpose of NATO or how it functions and therefore denigrates your Armed Forces and their capabilities. What, as a nation do you suggest we do to stem the drift. Our King and Queen are visiting US, will that help the accord, do you think

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cod1ngwolf@reddit

I've always found that there has always been a bit of a "older brother looking after younger brother" between the UK and US, OK were not as fit and active as we used to be, but we still want to guide you.

Unfortunately nowadays like the USA is a kid that's "gone off their meds" and the UK is the older brother that's just trying to stop them from hurting themselves too much, even if it hurts us in the process.

Sooner or later though, as in any family, the older brother will get pushed to breaking point and leave the younger brother to it to realise that actions have consequences.

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Oohoureli@reddit

It feels as if the lunatics have taken over the asylum. Forty-seven million of you voted for this man, knowing exactly the sort of person he was. It will take several generations to rebuild whatever kinship was there before. Perhaps we never can, or will want to.

The one thing we should be grateful to Trump for is that he is pushing us back to our neighbours in Europe, with whom we have a much greater affinity than with you, language notwithstanding.

I am sorry for what America has become. It is unrecognisable from the once shining city on the hill. But you created, nurtured, and elected this absolute horror of a human being, and have brought the consequent isolation and opprobrium upon yourselves.

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AceOfSpades532@reddit

We’re not “drifting apart”, you guys are drilling holes in your boat and we’re sailing off before you do it to ours

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robbelluk@reddit

Trump is driving a massive wedge between the US and ALL its allies, not just the UK. The long term damage that orange cockwomble has done to your place in the world won’t ever be repaired, he has made you isolated and despised except among the very worst dictators and warmongers on the planet. You won’t ever recover from the damage and megalomaniacal lunacy he continues to inflict on the world.

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b0ubakiki@reddit

I absolutely love loads of American culture - movies, music, youtubers etc. So on this level yes, I feel part of a shared culture.

But I've got a problem or two with America, and I don't want to any part in any "special relationship". Obviously you guys electing a senile pedo rapist who's started WW3 isn't great. It's a bad look. The vibrations are very negative. Next, I work for what was a really well trusted British company that's now owned by American private equity ghouls. And they're making everything shit, because they themselves as people, are shit. And your tech bro oligarchs are trying to install Nazi governments throughout Europe.

So please, in the nicest possible way, as a nation, you've got some great people and given the world some wonderful culture, but really the bottom line right now is: get to fuck!

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life_begins_now@reddit

I’ve never thought of America in a family way. Not even distant cousins. Australia definitely, New Zealand too. But America? Never. I think the special relationship is one sided. Unrequited love so to speak.

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MonkeyHamlet@reddit

Mate, we are sprinting away. As is the rest of the world, in case you hadn’t noticed.

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t4rgh@reddit

The US is generally nowhere near the UK culturally and hasn’t been for a very long time. There’s a veneer of similarity via the same (ish) language that fools people into thinking evangelical Christian gun nuts are exactly the same as brits.

Our worst politicians feel the same.

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Aggravating-Day-2864@reddit

It was a relationship (alleged) between presidents/prime ministers and sycophants....us menials couldn't give a fuck and never have...

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Significant-Crow-974@reddit

You think that we are ‘drifting’? Goodness me, we are poles apart! How can you miss that or misinterpret that? The US is an abusive partner. The US has created a toxic relationship. Proof that it Ian not us is that the US has created similarly toxic relationships with other countries too! Not only that, as a bully, you have sided with another bully called Putin! You have raped children, spat on the constitution, ignored the poor and needy and those needing medical help, facilitated billions in personal corruption, corrupted the FBI and DOJ, caused war and mayhem across the globe, shit on Western values and Democracy and you think that we are ‘drifting’ apart. Take a good long look at yourself. Look in the mirror.

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Brave_Emotion8634@reddit

I say this with as much gentleness as I can:

"You guys even colonised us once upon a time, but in a way, you made us who we are today" ... is historically incorrect unless you are Native American.

Also, the American obsession with and fetishisation of the UK and our culture is a bit over the top.

I personally feel no special connection to the USA. As a British South Asian, I feel a closer connection culturally and symbolically to European countries.

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BuzzAllWin@reddit

I feel a special connection, since 2016 whenever i start a new venture or large project america finds away of fucking it up a little be, like 10%. Everytime. True story.

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Brave_Emotion8634@reddit

😂 facts. Unfortunate facts.

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Brave_Emotion8634@reddit

😂 facts. Unfortunate facts.

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anniesquar3d@reddit (OP)

Regardless of who's in office, I’m just a girl who loves the UK and wanted to say something nice. I’m not a politician and I’m not trying to defend everything my government says. I just think our people are cool!

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Adorable-East-2276@reddit

For sure this is happening, but not so much for the reasons you’re stating here.

The politics of the moment is what it is, but it’s not nearly as big a deal on this as the internet might make you believe. Its effect won’t last a decade.

But there are long term causes for the drift.

The big one is that the US is getting way more connected to the rest of the Americas and drifting away from Europe. American interest in British culture has never been lower, and will probably never come back.

The second is that, a lot of the “special relationship” was based on being two great powers, and Britain just isn’t a power like that anymore.

Add the two together, and the only real connection left is the language, and that’s just not that important.

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FewAnybody2739@reddit

Drifting apart suggests it's passive. No, Trump is deliberately trying to leverage and use up the goodwill the USA has with other countries.

Once he's finished his second term, and if he hasn't dragged the whole world into Iran vs Israel, then the USA can start trying to repair relations.

Our shared language will always keep a close relationship and blend our cultures to some degree.

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Mountain_Strategy342@reddit

Individual Americans (and although I know 100s that is not really statistically valid) seem to be nice, genuine people, getting on with their lives, celebrating their successes and trying to get through the bad times.

The administration that represents individual Americans, is a whole sale, cluster fuck of mismanagement, nepotism, inability to communicate in a civilised manner and mocked on a global scale.

This will change over time.

The trouble is that the Internet allows the Yahoo's on both sides, those most vocal to appear as of they are representative of real Americans.

Those are the people in both countries that need to he kept an eye on.

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ThriceNightly_Whitey@reddit

The only special relationship the US has is oil, it's imposed a changeling in Israel, to the region and exercise power. The regime have accelerated to a very US centric view which is leading historic allies and bedfellows to excuse them from their global and economic plans, the dollar as a first reserve currency is being divested in favour of the Euro and Yuan, Canada had signed many trade deals that exclude any contact with the US mainland, $245 bn with Mexico over 5 years in missed haulage on one deal. The US are isolationist, unless it's going to war with a load of war criminals. Question, is Israel the 51st state or is the US the 2nd Israeli state? Is the tail wagging the dog?

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DavidJonnsJewellery@reddit

As much as I love a lot about America, I think your current administration has revealed a dark underbelly of how some Americans feel about us. We've been giving you a sideways look ever since you turned on Canada, and we're not liking what we see. It's going to take a monumental effort on your part to repair the damage that's been wrought. But, if you come to your senses, well, we'll see. You got over McCarthyism, you'll probably get over this. Good luck to you

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OllyDee@reddit

I don’t want to have any connection to your country, it’s a fucking liability. I’d rather feel safe.

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JeVousEnPrieee@reddit

America is too political and we are nowhere near. We are standing still whilst you're running yourselves into the ground.

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PaleozoicQueen@reddit

The US has been "drifting apart" with many different nations really, you do have a megalomaniac rapist in power who likes threatening other people.

I think we Brits and Americans are more different than similar, though we share the key things like a respect and love for freedoms, individuals and such.

On a personal level, I like Americans a lot generally, but have always felt my "family" is Europe. But then I am a Brit who has spent most of my life in Europe and speaks other European languages.

I recently spent 2 months in California and had such an amazing time, I was making friends and saw how I could build a life for myself in San Fransisco, even had job offers to keep me there. But something keeps bringing me home to Europe and a huge part of it is the differences in thinking about things like drinking, drugs, nudity, freedom ect.

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Demostravius4@reddit

Trump is absolutely changing the face of global politics, and not in the US's favour. His actions are going to reverberate for decades, there is just no coming back from the decoupling imo.

Europe will shift from reliance on the states. It will hurt in the short term but be a boon in the long. I think the EU will follow suit.

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Adhyskonydh@reddit

The people will always have a link. However…

Donald Trump has soured our economic and diplomatic relationship. He has insulted our dead military personnel, insulted us with mad tariffs treating us worse than Russia and generally shown disdain for the UK. He literally prefers Russia to the UK.

So no the British do not particularly appreciate the USA at the moment, but mostly because it is being run by a narcissist who is hell bent on screwing us over for a buck.

Trump is literally destroying the USA on the world stage and has made the USA so unreliable we dont want to be anywhere near it.

When you get rid of him and have shown to be a reliable friend again, it will settle.

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weedywet@reddit

Trump is doing everything he can to alienate every ally the US had (except perhaps Israel who have their own criminal dictator wannabe )

Putin must have really strong blackmail material.

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Stinkinhippy@reddit

It'll be fine once you elect someone with more than 3 brain cells.

It's rough right now because your president is an absolute moron.

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Tiny_Poetry_2267@reddit

The only people colonized were the native peoples, every person that came to the US (pre independence for arguments sake) with the exception of the enslaved Africans were colonizers.

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ValidGarry@reddit

Sir, you may have noticed a certain president steering the US away from pretty much everyone except Israel. It's American dumbassery driving it and it's almost all international relationships being trashed

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BuzzAllWin@reddit

Thats not true at all! You forgot Russia, getting pretty cozy with boy valddington bear

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One_Complex6429@reddit

Nah, not really. Both our leaders are prats in their own way! We shouldn't let that stop us being friends

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twmffatmowr@reddit

No, definitely moving away from you. Regular Brits look at the US and realise your Government is actively harming the relationship. Many Brits are even avoiding buying US products nowadays.

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JPMaybe@reddit

You keep electing mad emperors or shit senile corpses, and your brand of insane dominionist Christianity looks set to blow up the world; I'd say we're drifting, yeah

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ClevelandWomble@reddit

Drifting might even be an understatement. Sorry but that's how it looks.

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gmailreddit11219@reddit

The cultural relationship between the UK and America has never been as strong as the rest of the Anglo-sphere

For an example, Brits and Australians have a similar mentality, sense of humor and overall demeanour.

Where as if you add an American to a room of Brits, Aussies, Kiwis, and many South Africans, the American will be the odd one out.

Certainly in recent times the general sentiment towards the USA has dropped significantly, and I’d say the major of the population considers it to be quickly losing it status as world superpower.

There’s a saying, an American on their own will usually be one of the nicest people you meet. A group of Americans will likely cause problems.

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Warm-Marsupial8912@reddit

I think the "special relationship" was nonsense in the first place. Voting in the orange nutter, twice, has pushed you away from every single country previously considered an ally. And frankly in many ways, like abortion, lack of employment rights, total lack of animal welfare etc are so widely different from every other developed nation that you haven't had much in common with us for years

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clea@reddit

We really don’t like Trump. We can’t understand why you put up with him. And that, in a nutshell, is the root cause of the drifting you describe.

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sparklybeast@reddit

Drifting? There's been no drifting. What there has been has pushing. Your leader has been insulting our country, our soldiers, our elected leadership. The USA has aggressively thrown away the so-called special relationship.

I'm married to an American and yet feel no familial connection to the USA. We're too different as nations. The language is almost the only similarity, despite what Farage and his minions are trying to have us believe.

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olivinebean@reddit

politics and educational differences make it difficult.

...and the whole religious thing is very odd.

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adriantoine@reddit

It’s not just the US and the UK, the US is drifting away from the rest of the world, particularly its historical allies.

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PM-me-your-cuppa-tea@reddit

Tbh. I don't think many British people feel the same familiarity you do. Even pre Trump.

Our humour and culture is vastly different, in terms of the main English speaking "western" countries that people compare my familiarity/similarity would be: New Zealand, Australia, Canada, America, South Africa in order. And I'd say that America and South Africa are kinda interchangeable and absolutely leagues apart from how familiar and similar I feel NZ is

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Klown1978@reddit

Used to visit a lot. Now? Don't want to be anywhere near AmeriKKKa.

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Beautiful_Hour_4744@reddit

Hopefully

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Time-Mode-9@reddit

Not felt any sense of kinship since Obama.

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wolf_city@reddit

I don’t get when the media says this. One nutcase in power for a few years is not America forever.

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FigOk7538@reddit

Yes, the USA are drifting apart from everyone.

Get that fat orange shite out of office and watch the whole world heal.

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ImpossibleOil8427@reddit

I feel there’s been a lot more an of anti-UK rhetoric online coming from the USAmericans lately.

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2sema@reddit

I think at this moment in time you could already say “drifted”…the drift itself has already occurred. Not just from trump over the past 12+ months, but as nations we seem to have quite different objectives. Whilst we have the equivalent of MAGA supporters in the hardcore reform types, most people still support net zero, want the environment protected and want to work closely with our European partners (particularly in regulating/taxing things like AI and social media which has the potential to do so much harm). It seems the US (current and past) sees the EU and Europe as a threat rather than a partner. I think trump is encouraging this drift, and I think the consensus here is that there is no such thing as the special relationship. As a Brit I think we are definitely culturally closer to the Irish, Australians, New Zealanders and Canadians in the English speaking world. It’s not all negative but I can see the drift continuing…

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