Joe Biden lost his temper during a press conference and appeared to snap at his staff because he didn’t know which head of state he should introduce next.
The US president appeared on stage on Saturday as part of a two-day summit of their Quad alliance with the heads of state and government of Japan, India and Australia.
But when it was time to introduce Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Biden seemed to snap at his staff and demanded to know: “Who’s next?”
“I want to thank all of you for being here,” Biden said from the stage in Wilmington, Delaware.
He added, “Well, who do I introduce next?”
Then Mr Biden called out, “Who’s next?” There were several seconds of silence.
An announcer interrupted to introduce Mr Modi, who walked toward Mr Biden and shook his hand.
Technical problems
While the 81-year-old Biden has had a number of embarrassing slip-ups and forgetful moments in the past, Saturday’s lapse seemed to be due to technical problems rather than his mental acuity.
“By the way, he comes from a small country like ours. A small population like ours,” Biden said as he hugged the 74-year-old Modi. “He has become a good and decent man. A good friend.”
India is the most populous country in the world with 1.4 billion inhabitants. The USA is the third most populous country with 335 million inhabitants.
Mr Biden hosted the four-nation Quad alliance ahead of next week’s United Nations General Assembly, where he will address the annual gathering of world leaders in New York.
The Quad, an informal alliance of pro-American allies in the Indo-Pacific, consists of the United States, Japan, India and Australia.
Mr Biden added a personal touch to the meeting – possibly his last with the group before he leaves office on Jan. 20 – by opening his Wilmington home to the leaders and hosting a joint meeting and formal dinner at the high school he attended more than 60 years ago.
On Saturday, Mr Biden announced the Quad Cancer Moonshot initiative, which aims to eradicate cancer worldwide, starting with cervical cancer.
He also spoke about his son Beau, who died of brain cancer in 2015.
