Outgoing President Biden stumbled and referred to the country as a “city” on Tuesday, then said he would step down as president next month, telling an Angolan audience there was “no need for applause.”
“As you all know, I'm in the last few weeks of my presidential term. I don't need to clap for that. You can do it if you want,” Biden, 82, said, streaked by rain. He spoke while giving a speech behind a glass wall.
The lame duck awkwardly began his much-anticipated speech, praising Angola as a “vibrant city” before attempting to brush off the gaffe.
“Look, it’s not a city,” he added. “This city I know is not Angola, but it is a vibrant city in Angola.”
He similarly referred to President-elect Donald Trump's first term as “eight years,” before catching himself again and saying exactly four years.
Biden also announced $1 billion in “new humanitarian assistance for Africans displaced by historic drought.”
He did not say which countries would benefit from the aid, and Trump, 78, took back the White House on January 20 after campaigning on an “America first” approach. This fact casts doubt on other recent foreign fiscal commitments. To the world.
Hours earlier, Biden had been carefully led down a red carpet for a photo alongside Angolan President João Lorenzo, who had his hand on his back and pointed down the road as world leaders posed for photos. He posed for a photo, remembering a similar incident in which he treated Biden as if he were confused. Necessary instructions were given, such as Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's guidance in a skydiving demonstration in June.
The White House dismissed previous reports showing Biden appearing disoriented at events and other events as deceptive and “cheap fake videos” that removed important context, but that defense was quickly reversed. , staged a revolt and forced Biden to leave the party. They also rejected him as a presidential candidate because of his cognitive decline.
Biden read from prepared remarks during his first trip to Africa as president, noting that the first slaves brought to the colony of Virginia in 1619 were from Angola, and that the United States supported a rebellion against the former Soviet Union. He later pointed out that Washington and Luanda are currently cooperating closely. -Supports the government.
“The story of Angola and the United States holds lessons for the world: a shared history, the evils of human bondage, two countries on opposite sides of the Cold War…and now two countries working side by side.” We work every day for the mutual benefit of our people,” Biden said.
“This is a reminder that no country has to permanently antagonize another.”
Biden's visit to oil-rich Angola is intended to strengthen China's influence on strategically important developing countries through its Belt and Road initiative, which is centered on massive investments in ports and roads across Africa, Asia and Latin America. It's part of a broader U.S. strategy to distance itself from the United States.
Angola is in Africa second largest Support from crude oil exporters and the Biden administration includes support for a $2 billion solar energy project with the Export-Import Bank issue Last year, it received a $900 million loan.
There is also a plan for the United States to spend $1 billion to build a railway linking the Atlantic coast country to the Indian Ocean.
