President Joe Biden is coming to the end of his presidency and with one of his last major summits he is putting a very personal touch on diplomacy.
With no need to observe the usual niceties he has barred the press from covering his one-on-one meetings with world leaders and is using his lakeside home in Delaware to host the prime ministers of Australia, India, and Japan.
National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan described how Australian leader Anthony Albanese got a tour of the Biden residence on Friday evening.
But he did not know if the president had the chance to show of his pride and joy: A 1967 Corvette Stingray.
‘The vibe of it was sort of two guys, one at the other guy’s home, talking in broad strokes about where they see the state of the world, swapping some stories from their respective political careers, talking about the history of the US-Australia alliance,’ he told reporters.
President Joe Biden has not allowed the media to cover his bilateral meetings with world leaders at his home. But he is seen here with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in images posted on their Twitter accounts
‘It just kind of had a feeling like if you had someone come over for a cup of coffee or a meal.’
The leaders have come to Wilmington, Delaware, for a meeting of the Quad, a four-nation alliance designed to focus attention on the Indo-Pacific and counter growing Chinese aggression.
‘You guys have heard the president say many times that all politics is personal, all diplomacy is personal,’ Sullivan said ahead of Saturday’s meeting.
‘And developing personal relationships has been core to his approach to foreign policy as president. So opening his home to the leaders of India, Japan and Australia is a way of him showing, not just saying, but these leaders matter to him.’
He said no other Biden family members were present.
‘He did get a bit of a tour of the house,’ said Sullivan. ‘I don’t think he saw the Corvette.’
Not only have journalists been kept away from the one-on-ones, relegated to watching SUVs with blacked out windows coming and going from the driveway, but there will be no press conference at the summit’s conclusion.
The leaders are however expected to announce plans to step up maritime security in the region—with enhanced coast guard collaboration—and preposition aid supplies for humanitarian response missions.
The measures are meant to serve as a counterweight to an increasingly assertive China.
Biden pretends to throw a pass while visiting with members of the football team at Archmere Academy, his former school, and site of the upcoming Quad summit, in Claymont, Delaware
Biden points out the lake to Albanese as he gives him a tour of his home
Jake Sullivan, Biden’s national security adviser, told reporters that Albanese got a tour of his house, but couldn’t be sure whether he had got to see the president’s 67 Corvette Stingray
‘Obviously we are concerned about actions that China has taken, and we speak out about those actions quite directly and candidly, but we are also putting the United States and our allies and partners in a position to effectively defend our interests and to defend the rules of the road that have kept the peace in the Indo Pacific for a long time,’ said Sullivan.
Biden visited his former school, Archmere Academy, on Friday evening where he met with members of the football team fresh off a big victory over Newark.
The president sought out the quarterback and tossed him a football.
What’s it like being president, asked one team member.
‘It’s lot like being class president,’ said Biden. ‘Only joking.’
He will return on Saturday afternoon for a session with all four leaders, where they will announce a joint cancer moonshot plan.
