If there was any doubt that Joe Biden is no longer in the picture for many world leaders, his final G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro provided a sure sign.
Biden has been making a last pitch for global support on issues from Ukraine and Gaza to climate change before Donald Trump returns to the White House.
But as his counterparts gathered for an official G20 photo beside the Brazilian city’s stunning bayside, there was a problem — the 81-year-old Biden was a no-show.
Instead of the US president, it was China’s Xi Jinping, India’s Narendra Modi and Brazil’s Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva who joked and chatted in the front row before posing together.
Frustrated American officials blamed it on “logistical issues” and said the picture was taken too soon, as Biden was still making his way to the area from talks with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
“They took the photo early before all the leaders had arrived. So a number of the leaders weren’t actually there,” a US official said on condition of anonymity.
Trudeau and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also missed out.
Biden’s twilight
But while the issue did not appear to have been a deliberate snub, it reflected the increasingly sidelined status of the lame-duck US leader as Trump’s comeback looms.
The fact that it was the leaders of three BRICS countries in the front row that see themselves as a counterpart to a Western-dominated world did not help.
In another incident, US officials played down footage of the leader of the world’s biggest economy and most powerful military apparently straying from the red carpet on the way into the summit.
The US officials said that “several” leaders from “countries that face high threats” took a different route like Biden did, even if Brazilian media said they did not see any others.
However, the missteps come in the twilight of a presidency whose achievements are set to meet a Trump-shaped wrecking ball come January 20th.
Biden dropped out of the US presidential election against Trump after a disastrous debate raised concerns about his age, but he still saw his Democratic replacement, Kamala Harris, lose heavily to the Republican.
Now his six-day tour of South America has turned into a desperate frenzy to reassure world leaders amid uncertainty about what Trump will bring, from trade wars to threats to upending old alliances.
Final pitch
At the G20 on Monday, Biden had urged the other leaders to back Ukraine’s “sovereignty,” in his first comments since it emerged on Sunday that he had approved Kyiv’s use of long-range missiles against Russia.
Yet Trump could reverse not only that decision, but also Biden’s huge US military aid for Ukraine, with signs that the president-elect may push through a peace deal that could force Kyiv to cede territory to Moscow.
Biden also pushed G20 leaders to pressure Hamas on a ceasefire deal with Israel — and while Trump has appointed some key Israel hawks, he may also try to push for a historic deal there too.
Time and again, Biden has used his valedictory appearance on the world stage to try to keep his policies out of Trump’s shadow.
At the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima last week, Biden met with Xi, who promised to work with Trump on a “smooth” transition even as both leaders warned of turbulence ahead.
On Sunday, Biden visited the Amazon rainforest in Brazil to promote his record on climate change — despite Trump threatening to pull the United States back out of the Paris climate agreement.
At the G20 he announced what the White House called a “historic” $4 billion pledge for a World Bank fund that helps the world’s poorest countries.
But US officials admitted that there was no way they could “Trump-proof” the money if Trump — who has appointed tech tycoon Elon Musk to head a commission on cutting government “waste” — scraps the plan.
