When G20 leaders posed for a photo together for the first time at their summit in Rio, they forgot about Joe Biden. On Tuesday, they did some reshoots, putting the outgoing US president firmly back in the frame.
Biden, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni all missed Monday's photo shoot due to what U.S. officials called “logistical issues.”
No one ever got a second chance.
This time, Biden attended the last G20 summit before Donald Trump returned to the White House on January 20, and was given a seat near the center of the front row of assembled world leaders.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi shook Biden's hand as he took the stage. Prime Minister Trudeau, who was sitting next to him, chatted with Biden and at one point pointed at him.
Just a minute later, Chinese President Xi Jinping entered a cavernous room at the Rio Museum of Art where leaders had gathered and was sworn in.
When it was all over, the leaders applauded and clasped hands.
This full show of unity could not be in sharper contrast to the farce the day before when Biden missed a photo op.
Biden was seen walking among palm trees for a photo op on the Brazilian city's picturesque bay on Monday, but other leaders had already dispersed after the photo session.
Trump's no-show seemed to symbolize the 81-year-old's waning influence as the world focused on his second term as president following a landslide Republican victory in the U.S. presidential election. .
Throughout his six-day tour of South America, Mr. Biden has made one final pitch for global support on issues from Ukraine and the Middle East to the climate crisis.
However, after meeting with Biden in Lima last week, Xi said he would strive for a “smooth transition of power” with Trump, and Xi often seems to have his eyes set on January.
Biden also kept a low profile in the media and fielded questions from the media during his visit, despite major developments such as authorizing Ukraine to use long-range missiles made in the United States to attack Russia. It was also not accepted.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who is attending on behalf of President Vladimir Putin, who is facing an International Criminal Court warrant over the Ukraine war, was pictured on Monday but not on Tuesday.
