New Delhi: US President Joe Biden upset Australians when he forgot the name of his prime minister and then referred to him as “that fellow Down Under” while thanking him for joining a major new defense coalition.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australia’s Scott Morrison were virtually involved in the White House announcement, during which they revealed that the agreement would equip Australia with nuclear-powered submarines.
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“Thanks, Boris and … and I want to thank that fellow Down Under. Thank you very much, mate. Appreciate it, Mr. Prime Minister,” Biden said.
President Joe Biden has a list of such slip-ups, while America is used to its presidential gaffes netizens and the Australian media linger on the embarrassing moment.
The Cairns Post wrote, “Thanks pal’: Biden forgot Morrison’s name.”
A report 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.”
However, the signing of the AUKUS military agreement between the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia has been considered successful by all involved quarters, a move that would establish a security partnership for the Indo-Pacific.
The United States and its allies are forging ways to retreat against China’s growing power and influence, especially in the military.
“We need to be able to address both the current strategic environment in the region and how it may develop because the future of each of our nations, and indeed the world, depends on a free and open Indo-Pacific that is to come. lasting and flourishing over the decades, Biden said during his address.
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