On Friday, President Joe Biden was supposed to welcome the first international head of state to visit the White House during his administration. According to the staffer who runs the president’s Twitter account, Biden was looking forward to this press avail:
I’m looking forward to welcoming my friend Prime Minister Suga to the White House this afternoon for the first foreign leader visit of my presidency — and to renewing the historic alliance between the United States and Japan.
— President Biden (@POTUS) April 16, 2021
I’m not sure what it is about our alliance with Japan that needs renewing. It’s been pretty solid for decades, and President Donald Trump was a staunch ally against Chinese aggression, the biggest threat to the island nation. There were actually protests in Japan on Inauguration Day 2021. The New York Post credits President Trump’s close relationship with former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his willingness to stand up to China as the reason for his support in Japan.
Hyperbole aside, Biden was a no-show. Instead, Vice President Kamala Harris welcomed Prime Minister Suga. While she got through it without the hideous cackle that is usually present when she is nervous, her performance was still rather hideous:
???
shouldn't Biden be the one to welcome Japan's prime minister? pic.twitter.com/SG6W8K6jFS
— tsar becket adams (@BecketAdams) April 16, 2021
Harris is either unprepared or just terrible at extemporaneous speaking. Or it could be a combination. In any case, it is cringeworthy to think she is a heartbeat away from the presidency. At her level, she should be capable of seamlessly stepping in to greet an ally in a polished and appropriate manner. Instead, she showed herself halting and grasping for words.
It also appears Harris continued to conduct the tour after the formal greeting.
Not a view we see very often of the WH https://t.co/kJSrrs1q8L
— WHCA (@whca) April 16, 2021
One Twitter user noted that no one met Suga at the door. The prime minister and his staff entered the building alone:
No one greeted Prime Minster Yoshihide Suga when he arrived. Incredibly tacky and disrespectful @JoeBiden @POTUS @WhiteHouse pic.twitter.com/o6EZY7nlCX
— Rosie memos (@almostjingo) April 16, 2021
The user contrasted this scene with the way President Trump greeted Prime Minister Shinzo Abe:
How a real @POTUS greets foreign leaders, it’s not that complicated. Here’s how President Trump greeted Prime Minister Shinzō Abe. pic.twitter.com/wecMXPyJNy
— Rosie memos (@almostjingo) April 16, 2021
This begs the question: where is the president? Can you imagine the media freak-out if President Trump had not greeted a foreign leader as is customary with no explanation? It would have driven an entire 24-hour news cycle about how Trump was destroying the relationship with whatever nation the leader was from.
Biden’s staff thought it was super important to tell America that the president had been briefed on the Indianapolis shooting and to urge them to push for gun control after the arrival of Suga. But there was no explanation for his absence:
Vice President Harris and I have been briefed on the mass shooting at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis. God bless the eight individuals we lost and their loved ones, and we pray for the wounded for their recovery.
We can, and must, do more to reduce gun violence and save lives.
— President Biden (@POTUS) April 16, 2021
There was also no explanation on the press secretary’s Twitter feed or the White House Correspondents Association feed. Biden did arrive to hold a joint press briefing after a bilateral meeting with Suga. The live stream of the event began over 70 minutes before they appeared.
So Joe is not lost, but he was missing. Will we find out why?
Join the conversation as a VIP Member