Biden Humiliated with Back-Corner Spot in APEC Family Photo as China’s Xi Gets a Place of Front Row
247-Sports-HD
2024-11-17
Views 6
Lame-duck Biden humiliated with back-corner spot in APEC family photo as China’s Xi gets a place of honor in the front row.
LIMA — Lame-duck President Biden was relegated to the back corner of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference’s annual family photo in Peru, as Chinese President Xi Jinping enjoyed a front-and-center position next to the host country’s President Dina Boluarte.
The petty humiliation of America’s leader came ahead of his Saturday afternoon meeting with Xi, who has been feted with relative pomp throughout the APEC event in Lima as thanks for his country’s financing of a large new port on Peru’s coast.
Biden, 81, whose increasing irrelevance domestically and on the world stage has earned him the moniker of “super lame duck,” arrived last to the family photo before taking his position between the fellow back-row leaders of Thailand and Vietnam.
The order of world leaders is alphabetical by country, although a review of past APEC family photos shows national positions aren’t fixed.
In 2017, then-President Donald Trump took a choice center spot in two photos for the APEC summit in Vietnam, the only such gathering he attended.
This year, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Papua New Guinea’s Deputy Prime Minister John Rosso stood out of order, maneuvering behind Boluarte and Xi.
Biden’s position was a clear sign that the world’s leaders don’t take him “seriously anymore ever since Nancy Pelosi threw him out,” Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) told The Post.
“They probably should have invited President-elect [Donald] Trump down. I’m sure he would’ve been in the center of the photo with Xi Jinping,” she added.
Added Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-New Jersey): “There are lame ducks and then there are the lamest of lame ducks. Biden has been a lame duck since he was elected. This photo is a metaphor for his presidency. A picture is worth a thousand words — and this picture says it all.”
Other leaders with front-row placement included Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and their Malaysian counterpart, Anwar Ibrahim.
The dignitaries wore brown scarves, likely part of the summit’s ritual in which world leaders wear traditional garments of the host country for the photo-op. At the 2016 APEC summit in Peru, attendees wore long, brown shawls made out of luxe wool from the llama-like vicuña.
The White House insisted Biden had not been snubbed — but admitted several leaders were photographed “out of order.”
“It is the same assigned order APEC used in both 2008 and 2016,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said, citing former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama’s respective placements at previous summits in Peru when both were also serving their final year in office.
“This year, a few leaders stood out of order due to protocol errors but President Biden stood correctly in the United States’ assigned spot.”
LIMA — Lame-duck President Biden was relegated to the back corner of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation conference’s annual family photo in Peru, as Chinese President Xi Jinping enjoyed a front-and-center position next to the host country’s President Dina Boluarte.
The petty humiliation of America’s leader came ahead of his Saturday afternoon meeting with Xi, who has been feted with relative pomp throughout the APEC event in Lima as thanks for his country’s financing of a large new port on Peru’s coast.
Biden, 81, whose increasing irrelevance domestically and on the world stage has earned him the moniker of “super lame duck,” arrived last to the family photo before taking his position between the fellow back-row leaders of Thailand and Vietnam.
The order of world leaders is alphabetical by country, although a review of past APEC family photos shows national positions aren’t fixed.
In 2017, then-President Donald Trump took a choice center spot in two photos for the APEC summit in Vietnam, the only such gathering he attended.
This year, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon and Papua New Guinea’s Deputy Prime Minister John Rosso stood out of order, maneuvering behind Boluarte and Xi.
Biden’s position was a clear sign that the world’s leaders don’t take him “seriously anymore ever since Nancy Pelosi threw him out,” Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) told The Post.
“They probably should have invited President-elect [Donald] Trump down. I’m sure he would’ve been in the center of the photo with Xi Jinping,” she added.
Added Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-New Jersey): “There are lame ducks and then there are the lamest of lame ducks. Biden has been a lame duck since he was elected. This photo is a metaphor for his presidency. A picture is worth a thousand words — and this picture says it all.”
Other leaders with front-row placement included Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, and their Malaysian counterpart, Anwar Ibrahim.
The dignitaries wore brown scarves, likely part of the summit’s ritual in which world leaders wear traditional garments of the host country for the photo-op. At the 2016 APEC summit in Peru, attendees wore long, brown shawls made out of luxe wool from the llama-like vicuña.
The White House insisted Biden had not been snubbed — but admitted several leaders were photographed “out of order.”
“It is the same assigned order APEC used in both 2008 and 2016,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said, citing former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama’s respective placements at previous summits in Peru when both were also serving their final year in office.
“This year, a few leaders stood out of order due to protocol errors but President Biden stood correctly in the United States’ assigned spot.”
Report form
RELATED VIDEOS
