Rio de Janeiro:
If there was any doubt for many world leaders that Joe Biden was no more, his last G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro provided a sure sign. Biden is making a final pitch for global aid on climate change from Ukraine and Gaza before Donald Trump returns to the White House. But as they gathered to take official G20 photos along the Brazilian city’s beautiful bay, there was a problem. Biden, 81, was absent.
In place of the US president, joking and chatting in the front row before posing together were China’s Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Frustrated U.S. officials blamed “logistical issues” and said the photo was taken too soon as Biden was still en route from a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. insisted.
“They took photos early on before all the leaders arrived, which means many of the leaders weren’t actually there,” said a U.S. official on condition of anonymity.
Prime Minister Trudeau and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni were also absent.
Biden’s Twilight
But the issue does not appear to have been intentionally trivialized, but rather reflects the situation in which lame-duck American leaders are increasingly sidelined as Trump’s return to the Presidency approaches.
It also didn’t help that it was the leaders of the three BRICS countries who were in the front row, seeing themselves as a counterweight to the Western-led world.
In another incident, U.S. officials downplayed footage of the leader of the world’s largest economy and most powerful military apparently wandering off a red carpet on his way to a summit.
U.S. officials said “several” leaders from “countries facing high threats” have chosen Biden as well as other routes, even though Brazilian media said they had not met other leaders. He said he took
But this misstep occurred in the twilight of a presidency that is set to encounter a Trump-shaped wrecking ball on January 20th.
Mr. Biden withdrew from the U.S. presidential race against Mr. Trump after a disastrous debate raised concerns about his age, but he still expected his Democratic successor, Kamala Harris, to lose to the Republican Party.
Now his six-day South American tour is a desperate frenzy to reassure world leaders amid uncertainty over what President Trump will bring, from trade wars to threats and upending old alliances. It becomes.
final pitch
Biden urged other leaders to support Ukraine’s “sovereignty” at the G20 on Monday, in his first comments since it was revealed on Sunday that he had authorized Kiev’s use of long-range missiles against Russia. Ta.
But President Trump criticized not only that decision, but also the possibility that President-elect Biden would push for a peace deal that could force Kyiv to cede territory to Moscow, and that it would allow Biden’s massive U.S. military aid. There is a possibility of overturning it.
Biden also urged G20 leaders to pressure Hamas on a ceasefire agreement with Israel. Mr. Trump has appointed a leading Israel hawk who could try to push for a historic deal there as well.
Mr. Biden has repeatedly sought to use his valedictorian appearances on the world stage to distance his policies from Mr. Trump’s shadow.
At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima last week, Biden met with Xi and worked with Trump for a “smooth” transition even as both leaders warned of future turmoil. I promised.
Biden visited Brazil’s Amazon rainforest on Sunday to tout his record on climate change, despite President Trump’s threat to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord.
At the G20, he announced a $4 billion commitment to World Bank funds to support the world’s poorest countries, which the White House called “historic.”
But U.S. officials said they would “block President Trump” from getting the money if he rescinded the plan, having appointed tech mogul Elon Musk to head the government’s commission to reduce waste. He admitted there was no other way.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
