Embarrassment for Biden: the bizarre moments from the G20 summit

The G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro this week brought together dozens of world leaders of the largest and most important countries. Along with the high-level political discussions, the stage was used to absorb some bizarre and unusual events between the senior leaders – some of which are of only minimal significance, and others of greater political significance.Officials in the US, mainly those associated with the American right and the Republican Party, mocked President Biden after he “missed” one of the group photos of the summit leaders. The US President, as well as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Italian Prime Minister George Maloney, did not arrive in time for the joint photo of the leaders on Monday – which drew a lot of criticism.

 

 

 

In some reports on the subject, it is claimed that Biden wanted to avoid being photographed in the same picture next to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov. The White House claimed that the incident occurred due to “logistical matters” and said that it was simply a matter of bad timing in the president’s schedule, which is why he was late for the joint photo. Those around Biden claimed that the people of the summit were not waiting for him and Trudeau and Maloney for the joint photo. In the joint photo at the end of the summit yesterday, Biden Maloney and Trudeau took part in the photo.

 

THIS!!! Biden ‘misses’ G20 group photo where war criminal lavrov is present.

White House says this was “purely a logistics issue and not about Biden avoiding a photo with Lavrov” but I like what I see… or don’t see #StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/028fTMyWca

— Alex Raufoglu (@ralakbar) November 18, 2024

 

 

 

This incident of Biden with the joint photo came after he was also criticized for a picture of him last week, at an important political event in Lima, the capital of Peru. As part of the group photo of the leaders there, at the meeting of the APEC Forum, the Forum for Economic Cooperation of Asia and the Pacific, Biden was placed in the back row, a place that is often associated with leaders of smaller countries.

 

 

 

This case received great resonance among Biden’s opponents in the US, especially because Chinese President Xi Jinping, who also attended the conference, was given a central place in the front row. The White House claimed that Biden’s placement in the unflattering position was due to an alphabetical order of the leaders and countries, but in photos from events Similar previous US presidents are seen in a central position in the front row.

Another embarrassment was recorded between Chinese President Xi Jinping and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In their meeting in Rio de Janeiro, the first of a British Prime Minister with Chinese President Xi since 2008, Starmer criticized China’s attitude to human rights in the country, emphasizing the situation in Hong Kong.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer confronted China’s Xi Jinping about alleged human rights violations during a meeting at the Group of 20 summit in Brazil.

Chinese officials quickly interrupted and ordered British journalists out of the room https://t.co/60QnnWLj8g pic.twitter.com/qCdFRq7HYp

— Bloomberg TV (@BloombergTV) November 18, 2024

During his speech, Starmer criticized the treatment of Hong Kong, which is de facto under Chinese control, to the democratic political activist Jamie Lai, who is imprisoned in Hong Kong and holds British citizenship. During this meeting, which was broadcast live in front of the cameras, the representatives of the Chinese delegation stood up to hear Starmer’s words about Hong Kong, blocked the cameras and ordered all the journalists to leave the place.

Milei is the only president who does not hug Lula upon his arrival at the G20. pic.twitter.com/k98ftLXtuD

— Progresismo Out Of Context (@OOCprogresismo2) November 19, 2024

During the G20 leaders summit, President Lula of Brazil smiled with all national leaders he took a photo with…
Except for Milei, President of Argentina. pic.twitter.com/4A053qBUIM

— Crazy Ass Moments in LatAm Politics (@AssLatam) November 19, 2024

Another leader who participated in the G20 summit is Argentine President Javier Millay, who has been known for his lack of diplomatic manners for a while now. During his stay in Brazil, Millay shared on his social networks a video that shows the sequence of warm receptions of the host, Brazilian President Lula, to a series of different leaders at the summit in Rio. The video also featured the meeting with Miley, which was far from warm and cordial. The video also continued with past footage of Millay hugging Lula’s arch-rival, former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro.