Tipsheet

Social Media Mocks Biden After He Gets Back-Row Spot In Photo With Xi Jinping

Sarah Arnold
Sarah Arnold  |  November 17, 2024 10:30 AM

President Joe Biden once again humiliated the United States after being placed in the back row during a group photo at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Conference (APEC) Summit in Peru. This worst part? Chinese dictator Xi Jinping got a front-and-center spot.

The 81-year-old lame-duck president awkwardly sat in the back row between the leaders of Thailand and Vietnam after arriving late to the photo-op. On the contrary, in 2017, then-President Donald Trump secured a front-row center spot for the APEC summit in Vietnam. 

Republican Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) said the photo was a clear sign that world leaders see Biden as a weak president and have not taken him seriously “since Nancy Pelosi threw him out.” 

“They probably should have invited President-elect [Donald] Trump down. I’m sure he would’ve been in the center of the photo with Xi Jinping,” she added. 

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) said, “January 20 can’t come fast enough.” 

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“It’s an embarrassment to our country — under Joe Biden, America is weaker, our enemies emboldened, and the world less peaceful,” he said. 

The White House claimed Biden had not been purposely snubbed but acknowledged that several world leaders were photographed “out of order.”

“It is the same assigned order APEC used in both 2008 and 2016,” White House National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savett said. “This year, a few leaders stood out of order due to protocol errors, but President Biden stood correctly in the United States’ assigned spot.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese were placed in the front row, to Xi's right.