Biden appeared to forget Australian PM Scott Morrison's name, referring to him as 'that fella down under' at a joint press conference
White House / YouTube
- Biden appeared to forget the name of Australia's prime minister during a press conference.
- Biden and Scott Morrison were holding a press conference with Boris Johnson to announce a new defense pact.
- Biden called Morrison "that fella down under," adding: "Thank you very much pal."
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
President Joe Biden appeared to forget the name of Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison at a joint press conference with him, referring to him as "that fella down under."
Biden, Morrison, and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson held a joint virtual press conference on Wednesday to announce a new security partnership between their governments.
-10 News First (@10NewsFirst) September 15, 2021
After Morrison and Johnson had finished speaking, Biden turned to his left to address the screen where Johnson appeared and said: "Thank you Boris."
Turning to his left, where Morrison appeared, Biden said: "I want to thank, uh, that fella down under. Thank you very much pal, I appreciate it, Mr. Prime Minister."
After Morrison gave a thumbs up, Biden started reading from apparently scripted remarks and successfully referred to both prime ministers by their names.
"As Prime Minister Morrison and Prime Minister Johnson said, I want to thank you for this partnership, your vision as we embark together on this strategic mission."
As part of the new partnership, the US, UK, and Australia pledged to cooperate on defense technology in order to "strengthen the technology of each," as Insider's Bryan Metzger and Christopher Woody reported.
A White House official told Politico that countering the threat of China was a key aim of the partnership, though none of the three leaders referred to Beijing during their press conference.