Joe Biden forgets Australian PM’s name during nuclear AUKUS announcement

While declaring that Australia will develop a nuclear-powered submarine fleet in a new military alliance with the US and UK to fight the alarming growth of China in the Indo-Pacific region, US President Joe Biden appeared to forget Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison's name. According to Daily Mail, Morrison outlined Australia's position in a historic tripartite security alliance, known as AUKUS, to switch to nuclear-powered submarines with the cooperation of two of Australia's closest allies on Thursday morning.

In a joint news conference, US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson joined the Australian Prime Minister digitally for the announcement. However, while he acknowledged his gratitude for the relationship, Joe Biden seemed to have trouble remembering his Australian counterpart's name. He called Morrison, "that fella down under." The awkward blunder was quickly pointed out by the media.

Reactions pour in over Biden forgetting Morrison's name in AUKUS address 

People raced to social media to react to the situation. One person wrote on Twitter, "Biden just laid the “Scotty From Marketing” nickname to rest permanently." Another person commented, "How did you not remember the prime minister's name? That was honestly so embarrassing." A British citizen commented, "Biden calls the Australian prime minister "that fella down under" and tosses in a "thank you very much, pal"."

As a result of the agreement, Australia will abandon its contentious plan to spend up to $90 billion on French diesel-powered submarines. According to Daily Mail, after decades of debate, Australia has finally decided to adopt nuclear power, and the United States and the United Kingdom have shared their nuclear submarine technology with another country. 

The new submarine contract could pave the door for Australia to embrace nuclear power in order to substantially cut carbon emissions. Australia owns at least 40% of the world's uranium supplies. The transition to a nuclear-powered future in a deliberate endeavour to offset China's dominance in the region, particularly in the South China Sea, Australia has been dubbed "China's worst nightmare." According to Daily Mail, Morrison said that the world is growing more complex, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region, stating that this has an impact on all. 

Scott Morrison will visit Washington on Thursday

The submarines, according to Scott Morrison, will be built in Adelaide in collaboration with the United States and the United Kingdom. Australian Prime Minister Morrison will visit Washington for the first in-person meeting of the four 'Quad' nations, Australia, the United States, Japan, and India on Thursday.

Image: AP