On Monday, during his last Group of 20 summit, the departing American president showed up for a family photo with other world leaders—only to discover that someone else had taken the shot.
A number of world leaders, including Xi Jinping of China, Narendra Modi of India, and Keir Starmer of the United Kingdom, were present and took part in the customary summit set piece, which included smiling and linking hands, as Breitbart News reported.
The blunder in Rio de Janeiro, according to a high-ranking American official, was due to problems with logistics.
“Due to logistical issues, they took the family photo early before all the leaders had arrived. So a number of leaders weren’t actually there when they took the photo,” said the senior official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Before the shot was taken, Biden was nowhere to be seen. Reporters and photographers started scrambling to find him.
Along with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, he was caught by one cameraman hiding behind a palm tree close by. Meloni and Trudeau were also absent from the picture.
The insider said, "It was just simply logistical issues" when asked if Biden purposefully avoided posing next to Sergei Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, for the photo.
During Sunday's opening session of the summit, Biden discussed his upcoming resignation as president.
“As you know, this is my last G20 summit. We’ve made progress together, but I urge you to keep going -- and I’m sure you will, regardless of my urging or not,” he told fellow leaders.
On Monday, a senior aide said many nations were expecting President-elect Donald Trump's different global leadership, but Biden remains in charge.
“We have a system, fundamentally, that’s predicated on one president at a time,” said Jon Finer, deputy national security adviser. “President Biden is that president; he will be handing off power in January, and it will be up to a new administration to decide what to do with it.”
In his own words, Biden acknowledged the limited time he has left in office on Sunday.
“It’s no secret that I’m leaving office in January,” he said. “I will leave my successor and my country a strong foundation to build on, if they choose to do so.”
Attendees at the G20 conference include the top officials from 19 member nations and two regional organizations: the EU and the African Union.
The member nations comprise over two-thirds of the global population, about 85% of the global GDP, and over 75% of global trade, as stated by the forum.
In the wake of the Asian financial crisis in 1999, the G20 was formed to provide a platform for central bank officials and ministers of finance to deliberate on ways to stabilize the global economy.
Over time, it transformed into a summit of world leaders.
