--- title: President Obama Pushes Against 'Brexit' in U.K. Visit description: "No man's an island. Even an island as beautiful as this," Obama said Friday canonical: https://time.com/4305022/president-obama-pushes-against-brexit-during-u-k-visit/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-04-22T17:10:50.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T16:58:26.187Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Obama Pushes Against 'Brexit' in U.K. Visit og:description: "No man's an island. Even an island as beautiful as this," Obama said Friday og:url: https://time.com/4305022/president-obama-pushes-against-brexit-during-u-k-visit/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt565d3c4b80031e43/69889059a988ca89a16b78d5/gettyimages-523218694.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2739 og:image:height: 1541 og:image:alt: President Obama Meets With David Cameron At Downing Street og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Obama Pushes Against 'Brexit' in U.K. Visit twitter:description: "No man's an island. Even an island as beautiful as this," Obama said Friday twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt565d3c4b80031e43/69889059a988ca89a16b78d5/gettyimages-523218694.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Obama Pushes Against 'Brexit' During U.K. Visit > Sponsored content. 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Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Apr 22, 2016 5:10 PM UTC  British Prime Minister David Cameron and US President Barack Obama leave Downing Street after their meeting on April 22, 2016 in London, England. WPA Pool—Getty Images British Prime Minister David Cameron and US President Barack Obama leave Downing Street after their meeting on April 22, 2016 in London, England. WPA Pool—Getty Images WPA Pool—Getty Images by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Apr 22, 2016 5:10 PM UTC President Obama has weighed in on the debate over “Brexit,” shorthand for an upcoming referendum on whether or not the United Kingdom should stay in the European Union. During a press conference on his trip to London on Friday, President Obama said the U.S. and the U.K. are both strengthened by the Kingdom’s existence in the European Union and that what happens in Europe impacts both countries. The president spoke alongside British Prime Minister David Cameron following a meeting the two had at 10 Downing Street. “I think there’s a British poet who once said no man’s an island. Even an island as beautiful as this,” the president said. “We’re stronger together.” The president said the European Union “magnifies the power of the U.K. It doesn’t diminish it.” And on the key issue of trade, President Obama shut down any prospect of any immediate, replacement trade deal between the two countries if the U.K. were to leave the EU. “There might be a U.K.-U.S. trade agreement, but it’s not going to happen anytime soon,” Obama said. Leaving the European Union, he added, would push the U.K. to the “back of the queue” on trade. President Obama has been criticized for weighing in on the Brexit vote even ahead his remarks on Friday. In an op-ed he penned for the [_Telegraph_](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/04/21/as-your-friend-let-me-tell-you-that-the-eu-makes-britain-even-gr/), Obama also advocated that the U.K. remain in the European Union. “The European Union doesn’t moderate British influence – it magnifies it,” he wrote. “A strong Europe is not a threat to Britain’s global leadership; it enhances Britain’s global leadership.” [Many in Britain have denounced the president’s visit](http://time.com/4297361/barack-obama-uk-brexit/) and his comments, telling him in so many words to mind his own business. On Friday, President Obama addressed the critics, saying he’s just offering his opinion. “This is a decision for the people of the United Kingdom to make,” Obama said. “I’m not coming here to fix any votes. I’m not casting a vote myself. I’m offering my opinion.” The president also found himself defending the “special relationship” between the United States and the United Kingdom. He suggested the two countries are “bound at the hip” and said his comments were akin to a best friend sharing a point of view. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4305022/president-obama-pushes-against-brexit-during-u-k-visit/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4305022/president-obama-pushes-against-brexit-during-u-k-visit/"},"headline":"President Obama Pushes Against 'Brexit' During U.K. Visit","datePublished":"2016-04-22T17:10:50.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T16:58:26.187Z","description":"\"No man's an island. 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