President Biden again appeared perplexed as he walked into a large flag at the United Nations on Wednesday. He then seemed to offend the President of Brazil by leaving the platform without shaking his hand.
The oldest US president in history, who is prone to gaffes, walked into the 7-foot-tall Brazilian flag as he entered the room and had to take a moment to gather himself.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the president of Brazil, who was there for the joint speech and had agreed to engage with him on workers’ rights, immediately observed him struggling with the headset of his translation equipment.
“Can you hear me, President Biden? This is a historic moment for Brazil and for the US,” the Brazilian leader asked.
When he didn’t answer right away, Lula repeated the question: “President Biden, can you hear me?”
The 80-year-old president nodded in return as he turned to face him, but he remained in fidgeting with the headset throughout Lula’s remarks.
Biden dropped it at one point and furrowed his eyebrows in frustration.
At the conclusion, Biden shook hands with Director-General of the International Labor Organization Gilbert Huongbo before turning and leaving as Lula extended his hand.
Instead, he simply gave the audience a wave and made an embarrassing salute before leaving the stage.
Lula made a swiping motion with his arm and a plainly irritated expression as he walked away.
It is only Biden’s most recent blunder as he contends with growing skepticism regarding his age as he seeks the presidency in 2024.
Despite Biden’s apparent snub, the two presidents agreed to create a deeper partnership and spoke of their commitment to ensuring that workers benefit from the shift to green and digital energy as well as from the creation of high-paying employment.
Biden stated that additional countries and groups are invited to join the US and Brazil partnership on workers’ rights, which is currently limited to the two countries.
In light of the risks facing democracies all around the world, Lula also emphasized the significance of defending worker rights and supporting working families.
He dubbed it a “faith relationship” and a “new era” for US-Brazilian relations based on respect for one another and a common commitment to workers’ rights. Lula referred to the new US-Brazil Partnership for Workers’ Rights as “more than just another bilateral [partnership],” underlining that nobody has an interest in poverty or inequality.
