Former US vice president Joe Biden, who is a candidate for president in 2020, says British Prime Minister Theresa May has asked him for reassurance about the "special relationship" between the UK and the US.
Biden, who is leading opinion polls in the race to win the Democratic Party's nomination to challenge President Donald Trump for the keys to the White House, made the claim to top donors to his campaign.
At a private fundraiser on Saturday night in Columbia, South Carolina, Biden told several dozen donors that "at least 14 world leaders" have called him during Trump's tenure expressing unease.
Biden said May asked him directly for reassurance that the US and the UK "still have a special relationship".
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Biden said the US under Trump "is about to squander alliances" built over generations.
He noted that he has "spent my entire adult life" in foreign affairs, first with 36 years in the Senate then eight years as President Barack Obama's vice president.
Biden told donors he does not believe he is the only Democrat who can beat Trump.
But he said he can beat Trump and then "on day one" be ready to serve as head of state and lead post-Trump world affairs.
Trump is making a state visit to the UK next month.
