We all know which American politician Boris Johnson is supposed to most closely resemble. Comparisons between the prime minister and the president have been ubiquitous ever since they led twin revolutions on either side of the Atlantic in 2016. But is the idea that these leaders’ fates are intertwined blinding us to a more illuminating transatlantic parallel, not between Boris and Trump, but between Boris and Trump’s Democratic opponent? Rather than Boris being the British Trump, is Joe Biden the American Boris?

Superficially, the comparison might make not make much sense.