What if a US President decided to be the UK PM after their term/s?

If this happen who do you think would be most likely to try and be PM and would they manage to do it ie would the UK want them to be PM If so what would happen
 
None would likely ever be successful in rising that high in any UK party. I believe the only US presidents who might have qualified for prime minister of the UK were Chester Arthur (whose parents were Canadians immigrants) and Barack Obama (whose father was Kenyan). Obama is still eligible for prominent positions in Kenyan politics (and IIRC UK politics), but doesn't seem to be interested in it (the Obama name doesn't seem to be an automatic path to victory in Kenya, since his brother Malik Obama was decisively defeated in a local election). There's probably some other notable figures who could be competitors in US politics (and eventually UK politics)--imagine if Jerry Springer had been born in the US and thus been eligible for the presidency. Maybe Ted Cruz, being a Canadian?

It would be utterly scandalous if someone like Chester Arthur had contested for the position of the UK's Prime Minister in the late 19th/early 20th century after serving as POTUS. We'd see something similar if Obama would try his chance at being the UK PM. In this day and age, I don't think Labour or any other party would want Obama (and the Conservatives or UKIP or whoever wouldn't want a hypothetical post-presidency Ted Cruz).
 
How about siblings? Bernie Sanders' brother is a minor Green Party politician, so it's possible. We occasionally joke that my daughters (who have dual US/UK citizenship) could be President and PM at the same time - perfectly lawful and theoretically possible, but the odds against it actually happening are astronomical.
 
I think @metalinvader665 is unfortunately right, at least in terms of who would immediately qualify for the position. Any candidate would need citizenship either in the UK, Ireland, or another part of the Commonwealth, and by virtue of having been President, none would have that unless they applied for it after their time in office.

With that having been said though, I think Prime Minster Obama is a wonderful idea, personally. Also not directly related to your question, but there was an effort to draft Obama to run for President of France back in 2017. It was intended as a joke, but still worth note IMO.
 
Hard to envision a situation where a former us president applies for citizenship in the UK beyond total dystopia....

Lets say JFK is not assassinated but wounded. Unable to run in 64. Somehow LBJ loses to Goldwater or maybe LBJ was in Dallas as well that day and he dies. The 60's blow up into full fledged race war in the US leading to martial law. JFK flees to the UK or Canada. Somehow he gets healthy enough to pursue a new political career and advance enough to reach that level of power?
 
I don't see how citizenship is a major stumbling block; any ex-president eying the premiership could simply move to the UK, become resident, and apply for citizenship. The only legal requirement to be PM is that one be a British (or Irish, or Commonwealth) citizen, there's nothing about how or when the citizenship was obtained.

No, the real problem here is optics and politics. Any former president is going to be seen as a symbol of America and American power, which are not appealing qualities when trying to lead a different country. Their campaign would be blasted as the zenith of "Americanisation" of British politics at best, and as a foreign agent who wouldn't stand up for British interests and values at worst. I can even imagine it being portrayed as a "reverse colonization". And that's not even getting into how their record could be used against them— if the president had ever sided against the UK in some international issue, that's not going to play well (to say the least).

For this to happen, you'd need a very specific set of circumstances. First, there's going to have to be a long period of time between their presidency and premiership, for the politician to effectively reinvent and recast themselves as truly British. Second, their presidency must be inconsequential enough that it won't weigh on them so much.

So here's a possible scenario. Bill Clinton is never accepted into Yale (or just chooses not to accept the offer) and instead stays at Oxford, where he additionally meets a woman whom he marries. After he completes his degree, Clinton moves back to the US with his wife/girlfriend, where he gets into politics and his career goes more or less the same (Governor of Arkansas, 79-81, 81-92). Come the 1992 presidential primaries, he mulls it over but ultimately sits it out, but is later selected as victor Tom Harkin's running mate in the name of balance. Harkin/Clinton win election, but Harkin dies sometime in after the 1994 Republican wave, and Clinton ascends to the presidency. Clinton, who is more to the right than Harkin, is more willing to work with Newt Gingrich, which incenses his own party; Clinton is ultimately denied renomination in 1996. His political career over, Clinton and his wife move back to the UK. There, Clinton finds his way back into politics via a series of appointments from Tony Blair (ambassador? I don't know), eventually joining the Labour Party and standing for election as an MP in 2005. Then you just need to have Clinton win the leadership and an election, or for him to serve as PM on an interim basis following a death…
 
There, Clinton finds his way back into politics via a series of appointments from Tony Blair (ambassador? I don't know)

The only way he would get any "appointments" (by which I assume you mean as a member of the government) without first becoming an MP would be if he was raised to the Lords, which would effectively make it impossible for him to become PM. He certainly wouldn't be an ambassador, or hold any similar position, because they're all professional civil servants.
 
The only way he would get any "appointments" (by which I assume you mean as a member of the government) without first becoming an MP would be if he was raised to the Lords, which would effectively make it impossible for him to become PM. He certainly wouldn't be an ambassador, or hold any similar position, because they're all professional civil servants.
By "appointments" I was thinking along the lines of "head this inquiry", "write this report", "advise me on this matter" or "tag along on this trade mission", not a member of cabinet or a civil servant. Still a stretch, I admit.
 
To be a PM of the UK, first you'd need to be an MP, then you need to be elected by the members of the political party you are in, to be their leader, then you lead them to victory in a General Election.
The likelihood of that happening to an American in the UK is zilch.
 
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