Former DUP leader Arlene Foster has claimed US President Joe Biden "hates the United Kingdom" during his visit to the island of Ireland this week.
Ms Foster made the claim in an interview on GB News where she insisted President Biden's presence for one night in Northern Ireland "won't put any pressure" on the party to restore Stormont.
She said quite the opposite was true because he [Biden] is regarded as "simply pro-republican and pro-nationalist".
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The former First Minister described Mr Biden as "the most partisan president there has ever been when dealing with Northern Ireland".
She said: "The list goes on and on in relation to his dismissal of the British people living here in Northern Ireland."
Dame Arlene referenced several matters, including how Mr Biden previously met with former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams and the late republican Rita O'Hare.
Speaking to GB News, she added: "He revelled in the fact that he told a story about his mother refusing to sleep in a bed because the late Majesty the Queen had slept in a bed, so it goes on and on.
"He hates the United Kingdom, I don't think there's any doubt about that.
"And I just think that the fact that he's coming here won't put any pressure on the Democratic Unionist Party at all, quite the reverse actually, because he's seen by so many people as simply pro-republican and pro-nationalist."
US officials rejected the comments during a press conference.
Amanda Sloat, senior director for Europe at the US National Security Council, said it was "simply untrue" to suggest Mr Biden hates the UK.
"The fact that the president is going to be engaging for the third time in three months and then the next month and then again in June with the Prime Minister of the UK shows how close our cooperation is with the UK," she said.
Mr Biden is due to make a speech at Ulster University's new Belfast campus in the afternoon.
He will then travel to the Republic of Ireland where he will carry out a number of engagements during his four-day stay, including visiting Co Louth and Co Mayo, from where his ancestors hail.
The US president's visit has been timed to coincide with the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, which largely brought an end to the Troubles.
It comes at a time when Stormont's power-sharing institutions which resulted from the 1998 peace deal are not functioning.
The devolved government collapsed last year when the DUP pulled out in protest against Brexit's Northern Ireland Protocol.
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