President Joe Biden Forgets His Script To Introduce Prime Minister While On Stage

Daily Report September 22,2024

President Joe Biden had a senior moment at the Quad Summit held in Wilmington, Delaware when he seemed confused about who to introduce next on stage. The 81-year-old president was supposed to ring Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but appeared uncertain which leader was up next.

“Thank you all for being here and now, uhh, who am I introducing next? Who’s next?” Biden shouted after wrapping up his remarks.

Biden convened the summit at his home in Delaware during a two-day meeting of Quad leaders — India, Japan, Australia and the U.S. — timed to coincide with the U.N. General Assembly. The Quad was launched as a strategic partnership against the background of China’s expanding regional footprint.

Biden joked that after introducing Modi: “By the way, he’s from a small country like ours. A small population like ours. He’s become a good and decent man. A good friend.”

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Biden then announced a partnership for Quad nations saying, “I’m proud to announce that our four countries, the leaders behind me, and many organizations here today are committing over $150 million for HPV, HPV screening and therapeutics.”

“Next year, doctors and nurses in the US Navy will begin a program to train Indo-Pacific counterparts in conducting cervical cancer screening and vaccination so we could reach every woman in the region and it matters folks.”

Biden has been criticized for lapses of memory or clarity during public events throughout his presidency. For instance last year he knocked into a flag when at the United Nations and also appeared to have walked off stage without shaking Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s hand.

It is likely to be Biden’s final Quad leaders’ summit before he leaves office. He stressed the importance of the alliance with “Our nations are more strategically aligned now than at any point in our then 70-year history of standing together.”

Biden after the Quad summit will hold an in-person meeting later this week with Ukraine’s Zelensky.

Also likely to be on the slate would be Biden’s last international appearances — an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru and a G20 summit in Brazil, both of which take place after the November election.