President Biden went to Asia with a diplomatic to-do list. But he also wanted to show he remains up to the rigors of globe-trotting statesmanship.
  • hardypart@feddit.de
    173·
    1 year ago

    Even the biggest news outlets feel the need to have completely sensationalized headlines. Fuck this shit.

    On the 13th hour of the third day of a two-country trip, President Biden stepped onstage at a news conference in Vietnam and bid reporters there a good evening. At least, he thought so. “It is evening, isn’t it?” the president said, drawing laughs from the jet-lagged masses. “This around-the-world-in-five-days is interesting, isn’t it?”

    That’s all there is to this “story”. Absolute nonsense.

    • Collision ResistanceOPEnglish
      44·
      1 year ago

      Mr. Biden’s trip may ultimately do little to alter his political fortunes back home, where his polling numbers are low and he seems headed toward a tight race against his predecessor, Donald J. Trump. House Republicans are itching to push ahead on a long-shot impeachment inquiry, and his son, Hunter, is facing federal indictment on a gun possession charge.

      The president is also facing persistent questions about his age and effectiveness as a messenger for his own agenda — part of a broader conversation in Washington about leaders, some with health problems, who remain in office well into their 80s or 90s.

      As aging politicians of both parties, including Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Senator Dianne Feinstein of California, suffer from health complications in the public eye, some are beginning to call for more transparency into the medical history of elected leaders.

    • 1024_Kibibytes
      101·
      1 year ago

      He had been on a whirlwind trip according to the headline. The headline might as well read “president has jet lag and isn’t quite sure of the time after traveling halfway around the world”. That’s a non-story and something a lot of people would experience

  • AutoTL;DR@lemmings.worldBEnglish
    4·
    1 year ago

    This is the best summary I could come up with:

    Before Saturday’s diplomacy, a priest went to Mr. Biden’s hotel for Mass, an arrangement the president maintains anytime one of his foreign trips happens over a weekend, according to aides who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to publicly discuss behind-the-scenes movements.

    Back home and abroad, White House officials have publicly expressed irritation over news reports that describe the president as keeping the same languid campaign schedule as Mr. Trump, who is spending most of his time filming videos railing against his indictments and collecting endorsements from other Republicans.

    In the past, aides have adjusted schedules to accommodate the daily rhythms of the oldest president in American history, including last year, when initial plans for a 10-day trip to the Middle East and Europe were split into separate journeys.

    And on Monday in Hanoi, he was up early for a day of activities that included a visit to a memorial dedicated to the military service of John McCain and to attend a luncheon — where officials toasted to his health — before traveling back to the United States.

    But then he continued taking questions, including one from a reporter who asked him if he’d met with the Chinese premier, Li Qiang, who attended the G20 summit after China’s top leader, Xi Jinping, decided to skip it.

    Aides said that Mr. Biden finished the day by posing for photographs with U.S. Embassy staff members and military officials before receiving a briefing from Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken on the deadly earthquake in Morocco.

    The original article contains 1,278 words, the summary contains 257 words. Saved 80%. I’m a bot and I’m open source!