US President Joe Biden in conversation with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
Sydney:
US President Joe Biden thanked his prime minister for joining a major new defense coalition – but forgot his name.
Rather than being received in name for his role in the US-UK-Australia agreement, Prime Minister Scott Morrison was initially shunned for being “that fellow Down Under”.
In the televised White House announcement, Biden was surrounded by large video displays of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australia’s Morrison, each of whom participated from afar.
“Thanks, Boris and … and I want to thank that fellow Down Under. Thank you very much, mate. Appreciate it, Mr Prime Minister,” Biden said as he revealed a deal that would allow Australia nuclear-powered submarines. .
Biden began to recover as he turned to his formal remarks and correctly identified the Australian leader, who had previously responded to the apparent mistake with a smile and a thumbs up. But for some it was too late.
“Thanks pal’: Biden seems to have forgotten Morrison’s name,” ran a headline in the Cairns Post.
An analysis in the Sydney Morning Herald said the defense deal “probably did not reach the bright start that Morrison had hoped for, of course, when US President Joe Biden forgot his name.”
The paper said the apparent mistake opened a window into the “little brother nature of Australia’s situation between the powers”.
But an analysis by James Morrow in Sydney’s Daily Telegraph said that in a time of growing Chinese military influence in the Asia-Pacific, the awkward moment could not diminish the importance of the deal.
“Even Joe Biden can’t forget the name of ‘that fellow Down Under’ who just played over the last 12 hours can downplay the importance of it,” he wrote.
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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