21/04/2016 Newsnight

President Obama lands in London, on the next leg of his foreign tour.

But is anyone listening to a president with

And will those who come after him cement the deals he's made

As the race to replace him fast approaches, we ask our Atlantic

facing guests what they think American foreign policy

# This is what it sounds like when doves cry...

We remember the artist now forever known as Prince.

We'll be joined live by singer Mica Paris

And, in her 90 years, has the Queen witnessed or even prompted the quiet

death of the republican movement? Where are they now? Tony Blair

expelled me from the Labour Party and she agreed to come and open City

Hall. The Queen is above politics. President Obama has arrived at the

US Embassy in London bringing the British leg of his foreign policy

tour and a meeting with David Cameron. Don't be surprised if the

air is frosty. This bilateral will mark the first full meeting between

the two metres since Obama, in a candid interview, accused Cameron of

failing to pull his weight in the Libyan crisis of 2011, words which

may have gone deeper than publicly acknowledged. His expected

intervention on Brexit may have soothed some quarters but the

meeting is also expected to address Libya, counterterrorism and a future

strategy to counter Isis, but could what is sealed to day be completely

torn up in a post Obama world? Mark urban looks back at his foreign

policy legacy and asks how much of it will stick.

You would expect a president to rack up the air miles. Barack Obama is no

exception. He is in Britain for the fifth time as president to talk

about the challenges facing Europe and with time running out for him to

add to his list of legacies. In the past hour, he landed at Stansted,

flying in from Saudi Arabia, where he'd been discussing tackling the

Islamic State group. One of those issues he could never having

dissipated when elected. Barack Obama had all kinds of ideas of what

he was going to do when he came into office, only to see the financial

crisis develop, you know, literally during the transition. It was

completely absorbing. George Bush thought he would have one kind of

presidency and suddenly he had 9/11. The world has a way of confounding

what every new president wishes to do. That battle taking US forces

back into Iraq is just one area where events have conspired to

frustrate the agenda he set out at the start of his presidency. The

world, as Obama wanted to remake it, involved a pivot Asia, not just

China but south-east Asia as well. That meant repositioning, diplomacy,

trade and the military, away from the Middle East, a path that was to

be smoothed by winding down the war in Iraq and we setting the

relationship in Iran. There was to be less Europe as well. A military

drawdown and another reset, this time with Russia, to soothe

remaining tensions. That isn't how it turned out. Only some of these

aspirations proved realistic. We will give him credit for a number of

things, although they are unfinished business, for example, the Iran

deal, getting the millstone of an unsustainable Cuba policy of our

neck, making a pre-deal with China on climate before the Paris climate

summit. Those are some of the high points. How did Obama's world

actually turn out? A list of presidential trips still shows

Europe way out front. His most visited country, whisper it in

Whitehall, has been France. But the UK and Germany also figure highly.

Today, US troops are going back into Europe at Russia reset failed, and

back into Iraq as well. Much the same has happened in Afghanistan,

visited four times, while China has figured just twice, with a third

trip planned. There has been the nuclear deal with Iran and, late in

his term, Cuba has been written in as a dark horse diplomatic coup. But

even these achievements could be rehearsed and, indeed, a hostile

Congress and presidential challenger have said they will do just that. We

will totally dismantle Iran's global terror network, which is big and

powerful but not powerful like us. Perhaps the greatest challenge for

President Obama has been a custom in Americans to the limits of their

country's power, when so much of their political discourse emphasises

its greatness. These are not things that are easily accepted by a large

nation with a very rich history, particularly the history of the

post-war period. And, you know, it is tough, too, against the backdrop

of American partisan divides right now, where one side of the aisle is

defining greatness in largely military terms. President Obama has

acknowledged his foreign policy is a work in progress and much will

depend on his successor. Given the possible choice between Trump and

Clinton, the question of how much of a legacy would remain would not be

much darker. Joining us now, Bruce Jentleson,

who worked at the State Department under Hillary Clinton and is now

Henry Kissinger Chair in Foreign Policy at the Library

of Congress, and David Graham, who covers the US election

and global news for the Atlantic. Welcome. Thank you. It was

interesting hearing Mark calling this a work in progress. Bruce

Jentleson, how different do you think American foreign policy would

look under a Clinton presidency? There would be elements, a fair

amount of continuity, and there would be some change. When Hillary

Clinton was secretary of state for President Obama, they worked

together and agreed on any number of issues, and there have been some on

which they disagreed. Let me use Syria as an example. In late 2012

after the presidential election, Secretary Clinton was among those

pushing for the United States to establish a safe haven and a no-fly

zone, to give more aid to the opposition, while at the same time

pursuing aggressive diplomacy. That remains her position. President

Obama has chosen not to do that. In some respects, I think she would be

looking for a different balance point between the use of force and

diplomacy. That is one issue that illustrate it. Let me make you more

candid. When you are looking at something like Mosul under Isis,

Libya, the next one on the map, are you saying basically she would go in

way he would fear to tread? Not at all. This isn't about mass American

ground troops like George Bush in Iraq. It is a question of how you

mount a course of diplomacy strategy, in which you raise the

pressure in Syria on Assad, and to a certain extent on the Russians, to

try and come to the table with them and get a political transition.

There is no way there is a military solution to Syria but a bit more

coercion can help. How successful do you think Obama has been with his

relationships and where is there room for improvement in terms of

what comes next? I think it varies a lot from region to region. His

relationship with Israel has not been as strong as some craziness --

some previous presidents. Many will tell you that is positive, others

will say it is negative. Use the ups and downs with David Cameron, with

Angela Merkel with surveillance issues. And you see some bright

spots, improvement with Iran, opening to Cuba, so across the globe

you get a real range of stronger and weaker positions. If we are not

talking about a Clinton presidency, let's say, about a Trump or a Cruz

presidency, how much of this would stick Mr Mock would we see the Iran

deal torn up all the Cuba bingo? Is this primary talk? With Donald

Trump, it is clear we would be seeing something different, but what

exactly is a bit unclear, because he speaks in such generalities. He says

for example that he would not care up the Iran deal but he would

renegotiate it. What exactly that means it's hard to tell. We know he

would take a hard line with China. He seems to want to have a close

relationship with Russia. But he speaks with so few details it is

hard to tell exactly what the pivot away from Obama would be. Do you see

a Republican presidency as being more isolationist than a democratic

one? I think it is worse than that. It isn't isolationism if the United

States comes home. It is bullying. Build a wall and make Mexico pay,

but 45 increase on imports from China... Do you really believe that

rhetoric in your heart? That is what he said and we can only go on that.

It has been sufficiently credible that over 120 Republican foreign

policy professionals said they would work for him. He might try and

strike various deals as he tries to go to the election, but that is his

attitude. Fundamentally, it is his temperament. There is a ready, fire,

aim to Trump but I think would be very dangerous on almost any foreign

policy issue. Where'd you think the European relationships would go?

Obama seems to like France more than the UK, perhaps. Do you think there

is work to do in repairing the relationship with Cameron, and do

you think that Hillary Clinton would be interested in putting Europe

higher up the priority list? My sense is that she would like to

repair those relationships. The Russian ship may be a bit stronger

during his first term, which she was running the state department. -- the

relationship. Obama has this deep scepticism of what the US can do,

and I think you see less of that with Clinton, so you might see a

different engagement with the world. "Dearly beloved, we are gathered

here today to get through this The lyrics of Prince's Let's Go

Crazy have bolted back into the music world's collective

consciousness tonight after his death was

announced at the age of 57. He became one of the most

pioneering, popular, inimitable voices of the '80s

and '90s and beyond. His music could be haunting,

his stage presence He redefined gender

and his own identity, most notably changing his name

to a symbol to remove himself from contractual obligations

with his record label. Put aside, for a moment,

your concerns about what on earth is happening to our artists

in the year 2016 and remember just There was Elvis in his jumpsuit,

James brown in a cape, but nobody looked, sounded or, dare I say,

smells more like a rock star than Prince. You would call him Snape

kept that he would probably save that made him sad fact.

# She's never satisfied # Why do we scream at each other?

# This is what it sounds like when doves cry...

He sold 100 million records, he won seven Grammys and an Oscar, and he

went through names rapidly, jettisoning them when they didn't

suit him any more. # You've got the butterflies... Most

people don't get famous with one name and then change it. What is the

story? Well, I had to search deep within my heart and spirit and I

wanted to make a change and move to a new plateau in my life, and one of

the ways I did that was to change my name. It sort of divorced me from

the past and all the hang-ups that go with it.

# I only want to see you laughing in the purple rain

# Purple rain, purple rain # Purple rain... Prince, or whatever

alias he happened to be serving under, right, he could he could

play. -- he could write, he could sing, he could play. An older

generation of tax legends took notice. At a time when I thought

that rock and roll was dead and then I went to see Purple Rain and that

was it. It is a reincarnation of Little Richard and Jimi Hendrix in

one and I thought it was what the world needed. Controversial, but I

love him dearly and I think he is a genius.

Is that Britain's?! Reckon executives might not agree but

Prince was a total pro. Loose Women was never like this. Giving away

free tickets on a chat show. I love you, Prince! I love you back. You

are going to be at Madison Square Garden? We're doing a wonderful

series of concerts with an array of special guests and a bands that

played like a jackhammer. You have to come and check it out. And what

about this for a work ethic? # Oh, no, let's go. The only time it is of

a half-time in the Super Bowl and the smallest guy on the field is the

most valuable player. -- it has ever arraigned at

half-time in the Super Bowl. # You don't have to be beautiful...

To the premature end, he was always writing, playing impromptu

performances and a long run of dates in London.

# 2000, party over, out of time. For better or worse, the star who had

its oil -- had it all, even point his own epitaph, the artist formerly

known as Prince. Steve Smith, remembering Prince. And joining us

now: and Oscar-winning director Steve

McQueen. Mica, you shared a manager with

Prince. Tell us the story of how you first met him. It is very strange. I

was a huge fan and I was given a golden ticket for a private show at

the Camden Palace. Everybody was there. I was 18, standing in the

audience, looking at my hero and thinking, I cannot believe I am

actually watching him. And he called out and said, I think your name is

Mica, Singh. I was just blown away. He gave me the mike and I just

started singing ust My Imagination by the Temptations. I have lived it,

because I was terrified. He was very instinctive. And then he called me

up and asked me to come to Minneapolis, to Paisley Park, and he

wrote a song for my next album. So you literally sang from the

audience? How old were you? 18. And the next thing you knew, he was

writing songs with you and for you? For the second album, yes. It was

amazing. It was shocking for me at the time, obviously. But it was

surreal. Because he was like that. If you liked you, he would find a

way to contact you and work with you. Because that is what he is

like. He knows what he likes. Steve McQueen, what was it for you, the

pool of Prince? What was it that drew you in? It was the freedom.

There was a black artist totally and utterly free. And inclusive. He

wrote, produced, arranged, played all the instruments. And he was sexy

and religious and free in every single aspect of his life. And he

portrayed what he did in such style, and with such funk, you had to go

along with Prince. Prince was Prince, there is only one Prince.

You wanted to make a film with him, or about him. What did you want to

say? The camera would have been shaking if I was making a movie with

Prince. I met him after I won the Oscar and we talked. He was just

extraordinary, a very generous person. He took off his shades and

met my mother and I thanked him for what he had done for black artists,

and black people, because he was just a megastar. He was the best,

there was no one who could touch a guitar, dancing, writing, singing.

Who has all of those talents, all of those gifts? Helped me to unpick

that. I would come back to you, Mica, with the same question in a

minute, but when you say, Steve, all he did for black artists, what did

he do for black artists? What did he give them? I would not say black

artists, I would say young black people, for them it was the first

time the shackles of an industry... I mean, he was free. To put out an

album every year, to tour when he wanted, to do and aftershow, this is

a real artist, with no boundaries. And I think that... I mean, he is so

influential. Look at all the albums that came out in the 80s and all the

people who copied Tim, from George Michael and so on. The 80s and

beyond. Everyone copied Prince. Because he was the way. Mica, did he

feel like that, did he see himself in that way or did he see himself as

a man constantly struggling to change or Dumora? I never got that

from him. -- change or do more. What I got was he was music. He lived it,

breathe that, every aspect of him was music. I mean, I would be in the

studio with him and it would be like until six or 7:00am, he was still

going, like it was the daytime. He was a workaholic, it was all about

music. And he worked incredibly fast. Some of the songs, they are

alleged to have been written in ten minutes. Yes. And loads of them as

well. I remember him telling me that he has bolts of songs that go on and

on. -- vaults. Constantly working time. Amazing. Steve, do you think

there is untapped music that we are only just coming to? Is there a lot

of stuff that did not see the light? I don't know about that. All I want

to say is that what he did, in his unfortunately short lifetime, it is

just incredible. There is enough music that he has produced for three

or four lifetimes. He has done so much musically. It is just

incredible. He moved into movies, of course. What do you think his

influence was there? It is not everyone who can make that

crossover. Well, I think Spike Lee said it best, at that time, when he

did Purple Rain, that was hugely influential, as a black artist,

having a movie about himself, which he produced, and he was financially

involved in and it was a hit, it was unprecedented. What was it, 1984,

85? I think it was 1984. Amazing. And he directed the second one,

Under The Cherry Moon. I mean, he was a pioneer. It is as simple as

that. And he was such a contradiction of figures. He was

someone who felt deeply religious but deeply sexual onstage as well

and outwardly sexual. Yes, when I got into Prince, before I met him,

what happened was I had his album and he had suspenders on. And I come

from the church, so I used to have to hide the album in the house from

my grandparents, who were ministers, because everyone was saying, you

cannot have that, that is wrong. And it did not matter that he had

suspenders on because when you heard that funky beat, I mean, it was just

shocking. The way he fused all of those styles as well, you have to

remember the fused funk, soul, jazz, classical, and then he mixed it with

technology, the way he was so ahead with technology as well, he was

definitely an enigma. The news today has come... I was quite sad,

actually, before I came on the programme but hearing Mica talk

about Prince and human memories, there is so much joy, there is so

much to what he did, the artistry, it is pretty incredible when you

think back. What's Mica was saying, it gives me lots of warmth in my

chest. I was feeling sad before I came on and now I think, he knocked

the ball way out of the park. Was there a moment where you remember

thinking, this man is changing my life, this man is going to have a

profound effect on who I am from now on? I mean, this guy came out with

an album every year. It was just incredible. I remember my friend

Mark gave me, what was it, excuse me, what was the album? I am losing

my train of thought. I was listening to this album and every track was

revolutionary. If I was your girlfriend, hello?! Speeding up the

vocals. Whole idea of him being male, female, inclusive, black,

white, number one, Prince. No one could touch him. I think the best

one was Sign o' the Times, because it was sparse, and the message was

so powerful. That was the one! For me, that was the pinnacle. We have

only just begun the reliving. Before we go, Sign o' the Times, you were

one of the few who spotted some of the warning signs over the last

year, but maybe all was not well with his health. I saw him last year

and I thought he was a bit thin, that was the only thing I thought.

He was the slimmest I have seen him in all the years I have known him

and it was something I thought he looked a bit thin but I think he

worked so hard. This is a guy who was constantly touring, constantly

working and hardly slept. He loved his job. Great to have you both. I

appreciate you joining us tonight. As beacons blaze across the country

this evening to mark the Queen's 90th birthday,

she enjoys what feels like unclouded popularity,

garnering respect even from those who don't see themselves as dyed

in the wool monarchists. So has she properly seen off

the Republican movement in On double time tonight,

here's Stephen Smith again. You could be forgiven for thinking

that Republicans hadn't taken such a pasting since their battles

with the Royalists Today, though, the sovereign

reigns unchallenged, enjoying a popularity to make other

establishment figures Will you be stocking this with

newts? The newts are in there already. I had two badgers

frogspawn. -- two batches of frogspawn.

Labour's Ken Livingstone pours his energy into

But didn't he once hoped to live a bit like the French

Do you still describe yourself as a Republican?

Yes, theoretically, but I don't think it will be an issue

I don't think it will arise because if you say we're

going to get rid of the monarchy, then who are you going to have?

I don't think we want to move to a presidential system

like America, we want to keep a prime ministerial one.

So you would need a head of state, largely ceremonial,

and people don't want some clapped-out old politician.

What you might get is celebrities running for it,

I was really struck because when Mrs Thatcher

was abolishing the TLC, the Queen agreed to come and open

And then when Tony Blair had expelled me from the Labour Party,

she agreed to come to open City Hall on the very day he was

I think the Queen is just above politics, and politicians come

and go, and she is there to serve the people.

Has the bell tolled for a British Republic?

But what about after the Queen's reign?

A recent hit play, King Charles III, imagines rocky times

And some Republicans see it that way, too.

Republicanism used to be the R-word that could not be mentioned,

it could not be talked about, right up until 15 years ago.

Now it's quite acceptable to talk about it, think about it,

And I think that is what has happened, but of course the Queen,

because of her world celebrity status, really,

she is a celebrity rather than anything else,

while she's there, the political class in this country, in my view,

In a room over a pub in Birmingham, members of the pressure group

Republic look forward to what they hope will be

They claim to have 5000 members and many more sympathisers.

Graeme Smith is Republic's full-time salaried CEO.

If it is not her, if it is not the Royals, then we get

President Blair or President Stephen Fry.

You never would, the point is, well, you would get someone

who is quite serious and ultimately has been chosen by the people,

so it is going to be someone that is going to have that kind

Sorry to interrupt you, but it seems we are about to name

a research vessel Boaty McBoatface, so are you sure you have

that much confidence in your fellow citizens?

The point is, we are about to elect a new Mayor of London and we have

elected governments of different stripes across the country

in Scotland, England and Wales and so on.

If you look at the Republic of Ireland, they directly

elect their head of state, who has a very similar

They are accountable and certainly in the last decade and a half

they have enjoyed levels of popularity equal to that

The Queen has been quite clever in not being ostentatiously wealthy.

The next couple of generations are much more open about going

on holiday all the time and all that kind of thing.

And I think what is going to happen is it is going to be evident how out

We are not all in this together if you happen to be a Windsor.

If that has doused the Royal braziers a little, Tracey Emin,

who met the Queen at the Turner Contemporary Gallery

in Margate, says she is a convert to monarchism.

When I was younger, I did not feel for the Royal family

And then, when I was about 20, in my 20s, I saw a royal procession

coming from Victoria Station and I had to get off

the bus and stand and wait, and then when the Queen went past

in her golden coach, my hand went up and I just

started waving and cheering like everybody else.

I am going to do the right thing, I thought, I am going to make

Her Majesty a very nice birthday card and send it.

Yesterday, this woman was elected as the first black female president of

the NUS. Her election has sparked controversy as she has been accused

of anti-Semitic remarks, including -- including Colin Bernd Neumann

university as I missed out let. She says her comments have been

mis-represented, she isn't racist, and she emphasises the difference

between being anti-Zionist and anti-Semitic. She has been accused

of not supporting a motion condemning the so-called Islamic

State, but the NUS says this is because she disputed the wording of

the motion, not the principle. But students from at least seven

universities of voting to disassociate from the NUS. Harry

Samuels, an Oxford NUS delegate who wants to disassociate, joined us.

You are campaigning to disassociate your university, Oxford, from the

NUS. Yes, we disagree with the direction of the NUS. My delegation

was elected on a reformist slate and we went to the conference over the

last few days to see what it was like, to try and put forward some

reformist emotions and to see if there was any way to change the NUS

for the better. This is about the NUS or her in particular? Not hurt

in particular. Her election enshrined the fact that the NUS no

longer represent all students and there are other grievances we have

lived with the rest of the organisation, and it is the mixture

of those reasons and the culmination that we saw in this conference is

why we are campaigning to leave. Looking in, she won it, she got the

mandate, more than 50% of the vote, and that is how democracy works. Are

you saying, we just don't want that any more, we don't buy into it, or

are you saying the NUS doesn't account for at least seven of these

universities? I would dispute that she was elected democratically. The

only people allowed to vote for the NUS president of the senior

delegates. She was elected with I think 372 votes, so 372 people out

of 7 million students represented by the NUS voted for her. That isn't a

mandate. It is still the process by which the NUS elects its presidents,

and she won it. She did, and we are saying that we disagree with that

process and we want the elections for the people who represent the

entire student body to be opened up to all students. There was a motion

on that today which was one member, one vote, and that was defeated. You

want to pull yourself away from the NUS for good. What happens when they

get their next president and it is somebody that you agree with? Do you

opt back in? No, we need to make this clear. We are not seeking to

disaffiliate simply because we disagree with this particular

president. For the last few years, we have seen an increasing level of

things we disagree with, increasing evidence that the organisation can

no longer be reformed, and it is the election of this president that is

the straw that broke the camel's back. Why do you think there is this

shift? A variety of reasons. A lot has to do with the fact that the NUS

fails to engage with the student it seeks to represent. In my election,

as I was elected as a delegate, only 14% of people eligible to vote in

Oxford turned out to vote for me. It is similar across the country. The

NUS fails to engage with people, it fails to go beyond the cliques that

remit, and we think it should be a broad organisation, an organisation

representing all students. We have tried to reform it but they are

simply not able to be reformed any more. The NUS knows it has got a

right of reply and we are happy to speak to them about this and other

issues. Thank you for coming on. Let me take you through the papers. That

story is the top of the Times, Oxford threatens to dump student

union in anti-Semitism row. The topline alongside that picture of

Prince is from Obama, an opinion piece he has written for the Times.

The topline is, don't turn away from the EU, Obama tells Britain, anger

over President's intervention no doubt will come. The Independent as

this silhouette, the black and white Prince with the dates, no words. The

Sun has, the Purple Rain is over. Prince dies on Queen's birthday.

Something that is hard to miss. The Daily Mail has got the Queen herself

with a birthday smile saying, she is loving every -- she is loving every

minute. Two years ago we paid our own

tribute to the artist formerly known as Prince when he played a gig

at Ronnie Scott's nightclub in Soho Newsnight went down to the very long

ticket queue to see what a hardcore I'm not doing it. No, it's cool.

# I only wanted to be some kind of friend...

# Baby, I could never steal you from another

# It's such a shame our friendship had to end

# Purple rain, purple rain # Purple rain, purple rain I've got

a dodgy throat. # Purple rain, purple rain. Purple

rain, purple rain. It was a bit less predictable. No.

# I only want to see you laughing in the purple rain.

Some of us have had lovely print -- spring sunshine and warmth recently

but things are set to