(Daily Mail) Joe Biden has seemingly wandered off the UN stage without shaking hands with Brazil‘s Lula at the end of a joint speech.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, 77, looked visibly irritated after the two leaders shared a stage to speak about their initiative to improve workers’ rights in each country.
But their diplomatic meeting got off to a labored start when Biden, 80, shuffled into a seven-foot Brazilian flag, leaving it teetering as he approached the podium.
The president made a rambling speech about his ‘economic vision to rebuild our economy from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down’ while Lula watched on from his right flank.
Meanwhile, during Lula’s speech Biden fumbled with his headset, which he was using to hear a translated version.
Biden appeared to leave Lula hanging at the end of the diplomatic presentation, awkwardly saluting the audience before shuffling off stage
As Biden turned his back on the Brazilian president, Lula looked annoyed and made a swiping gesture with his arm. They departed awkwardly from opposite sides of the stage
Biden bumped into the Brazilian flag, marking his first gaffe within seconds of appearing on stage
‘Can you hear me President Biden? This is an historical moment for Brazil, and for the US,’ Lula said at the start of his speech.
‘President Biden can you hear me?’ Lula asked again, appearing to lose patience as Biden grunted in response. ‘You can?’ he asked, turning to Biden. ‘Yes, good.’
Biden continued to look confused as he grappled with the headset while Lula went on with his speech. At one point Biden dropped his earpiece and raised his eyebrows in frustration.
International Labor Organization Director General Gilbert Houngbo took to the podium after the two world leaders, and Biden stooped to slowly grab a folder from the ground.
Houngbo shook hands with Biden and Lula in turn at the close of his speech – but Biden appeared to leave Lula hanging, awkwardly saluting the audience before shuffling off stage.
He appeared to be torn between giving a thumbs-up or a salute, and made a sloppy gesture combining the two.
As Biden turned his back on the Brazilian president, Lula looked annoyed and made a swiping gesture with his arm. They departed awkwardly from opposite sides.
President Biden (left) has seemingly wandered off the UN stage without shaking hands with Brazil ‘s Lula (right) at the end of a joint speech, following a gaffe-filled presentation
The President’s diplomatic meeting with Lula got off to a labored start when he shuffled into a seven-foot Brazilian flag, leaving it teetering slightly as he approached the podium (pictured)
Biden fumbled with his headset during the first minute of Lula’s speech
Throughout the three speeches, which went on for around 15 minutes, they shared several more exchanges.
As Biden finished his speech and stepped down from the podium, Lula patted him on the shoulder before taking to the mic himself.
At the end of Lula’s speech, Biden shouted ‘good job!’ and Lula shook hands with him and Houngbo.
‘The two largest democracies in the Western Hemisphere are standing up for human rights around the world and the hemisphere, and that includes workers’ rights,’ Biden said.
‘Let me be clear, whether it’s the autoworkers union or any other union worker, record corporation profits should mean record contracts for union workers.’
‘In America I’m proud that my administration is characterized as the most pro-union administration in American history,’ Biden added. To applause from the audience, he added: ‘No I really mean it.’
Lula said he had never heard an American president speak so highly of workers and described their common cause as a chance to transform ties between the countries.
Their comments came on the sixth day of a strike by 12,700 United Auto Workers members against Ford, General Motors and Chrysler parent Stellantis, who are demanding better pay and benefits.
Biden said the U.S.-Brazil Partnership for Workers’ Rights will start as a bilateral initiative, but that other nations and organizations were welcome to join.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, 77, looked visibly irritated after the two leaders shared a stage to speak about their joint initiative to improve workers’ rights in their respective nations
President Biden made a rambling speech about his ‘economic vision to rebuild our economy from the middle out and the bottom up, not the top down’ while Lula watched on from his right flank, and International Labor Organization Director General Gilbert Houngbo from the left
Biden and Lula, speaking before a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the high-level United Nations General Assembly, highlighted the importance of decent jobs, good wages and ensuring that workers benefit from the digital and green energy transitions
During Lula’s speech Biden fumbled with his headset, which he was using to hear a translated version
Lula, warning that democracies were under threat around the world, said it was critical to shore up workers’ rights, and said the new initiative would help ‘arouse hope’ for working families while deepening ties between the two countries.
‘It’s more than just another bilateral. It’s a faith relationship that we are building here and a new era for U.S.-Brazilian relations amongst equal partners,’ he said, adding, ‘poverty and inequality is not in the interest of anybody.’
Initial hopes that Lula would prove a staunch ally for Biden have been tempered in recent months, with the Brazilian leader voicing opposition on some issues and at times even seeming to thumb his nose at Washington.
‘This meeting here, for me, is more than a bilateral meeting; it is the rebirth of a new era in the relationship between the U.S. and Brazil. It is a relationship of equals,’ Lula said. He later described it as ‘a golden moment for us.’
Houngbo welcomed what he termed a historic initiative.
‘Decent work empowers workers to organize and to negotiate,’ he told reporters. ‘It fosters social justice, which is essential if people are to have a brighter future.’
The joint project is part of a U.S. effort to strengthen ties with Brazil, which has maintained close links to China, its main trading partner, even as tensions have increased sharply between Beijing and Washington.
