I’m sure the US will back down when they see the whites of Johnson’s bleary eyes, just like the EU are going to, and we’ll get everything promised. We may not be as big or powerful as the EU or US, but these knock-kneed foreigner’s will be easily swayed by the vapid mumblings of our gormclops-in-chief. As soon as he starts saying ‘clearly’ followed by something opaque and meaningless, they’ll be putty in his hands. Chuck in the odd ‘ample’ and we’ll be home and dry.
I’m being sarcastic, obviously, but it has worked with voters in this country, so never know!
On a more serious note, why do we think there is a general consensus that the US will take us roughly, but redliners (not sure that works, but brexiteer feels outdated post-Brexit) often believe that the EU will fold. Is it that they don’t believe the EU is ‘real’ in the same way as the US (and I accept there are major differences) or that EU officials English can, in some cases, be slightly stilted and people think that indicates dim-wittedness? Or something else?