President Biden screamed for a nap during a rambling 26-minute international news conference in Vietnam on Sunday that capped his whirlwind trip to Asia.
“I’ll tell you what, I don’t know about you, but I’m going to bed,” Biden, 80, joked during a ramble in response to a question about why he hasn’t spoken to Chinese leader Xi. Jinping.
The president was in Hanoi after the multi-day Group of 20 summit in New Delhi, India, where he enjoyed the absence of Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“I will simply follow my orders here. Staff, is there anyone who hasn’t spoken yet? I won’t call you,” Biden said at another point during Sunday’s press conference.
Biden dusted off some of his favorite phrases and sometimes seemed to invent new ones as he responded to a barrage of questions from reporters.
“The Indian looks at John Wayne and points at the Union soldier and says, ‘That’s a lying dog-faced pony soldier!’” Biden said in response to a question about climate change.
President Joe Biden delivers a news conference in Hanoi, Vietnam, on September 10. AP/Evan Vucci
“Well, there are a lot of lying, dog-faced soldiers about global warming,” he added.
Biden also came prepared for some jokes from reporters.
“Thank you, Mr. President. I hope you didn’t think that calling only the women would give you soft balls tonight,” Voice of America correspondent Anita Powell said at one point.
“If you sent me a baseball, I wouldn’t know what to do with it, I’d probably strike out even worse,” Biden joked in response.
The president also contextualized the geopolitical nuances of his trip to Asia, specifically in relation to China, which loomed large even in Xi’s absence.
“The goal of this trip was not so much to contain China. “I don’t want to contain China,” Biden said. “I just want to make sure that we have a relationship with China that is up and in order.”
“I’ll tell you what, I don’t know about you, but I’m going to bed,” Biden, 80, joked during a rambling riff in response to a question. AFP via Getty Images/Saul Loeb
Xi is believed to have skipped the G20 summit due to strained relations with host nation India.
Instead, he sent Chinese Premier Li Qiang there on his behalf.
Biden posited during the news conference that China’s now faltering economy would dampen the prospects of an invasion of Taiwan.
Many experts have feared, however, that China’s economic situation will fuel desperation in Beijing and increase the chances of an invasion.
“I think China has a difficult economic problem right now for a wide range of reasons that relate to international growth and the lack of it and the policies that China has pursued,” Biden told reporters.
“I don’t think that’s going to cause China to invade Taiwan; In fact, quite the opposite. “I probably didn’t have the same ability that she had before.”
Biden enjoyed the absence of Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin.AP/ Luong Thai Linh
At the end of the press conference, an aide interrupted Biden mid-sentence and said the press conference was over.
Following his stop in Hanoi to bolster relations with Vietnamese leaders, widely considered a strategically important ally in the Asia Pacific, Biden is expected to fly to Alaska, where he will commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn