President Joe Biden had an awkward moment on stage this weekend when he forgot who he was introducing and appeared to snap at staffers during a press conference for the Quad summit on Saturday.
Biden was speaking at the press conference when he was supposed to call India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the podium. However, Biden appeared to forget which of the three leaders he was supposed to call on, creating an awkward moment.
“Thank you all for being here and now, uhh, who am I introducing next? Who’s next?” the 81-year-old Biden yelled while looking off stage after finishing his comments.
An announcer then shared that Modi would be next to speak. The prime minister and Biden then shook hands as they swapped positions.
The summit featuring allies of the four-nation Quad alliance was being held at Biden’s home in Wilmington, Delaware, and comes as foreign leaders travel to the US for the United Nations General Assembly meeting.
The four countries that make up the Quad Alliance are the US, India, Japan, and Australia. The alliance was established to help counter the influence of China.
“By the way, he’s from a small country like ours. A small population like ours,” Biden joked while embracing Modi, 74. “He’s become a good and decent man. A good friend.”
India has the largest population in the world, with approximately 1.4 billion people calling the country home. Compared to the US, which is the third-most populated country with 333 million.
Before Modi spoke, Biden discussed the global extension of his Cancer Moonshot initiative, sharing that the new plan will include a partnership between the Quad Alliance countries as they seek to reduce the number of cancer deaths.
“I’m proud to announce that our four countries, the leaders behind me, and many organizations here today are committing over $150 million for HPV, HPV screening and therapeutics,” Biden said. “Next year, doctors and nurses in the US Navy will begin a program to train Indo-Pacific counterparts in conducting cervical cancer screening and vaccination so we could reach every woman in the region, and it matters folks.”