Biden blasted for attacking ally and comparing Japan to Russia and China: ‘Not something diplomatic to say’
By
Brady Knox
May 2, 2024 8:56 am
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President Joe Biden lumped in longtime ally Japan with Russia and China, denouncing them as “xenophobic,” which drew widespread outrage.
Speaking at a campaign fundraiser on Wednesday that marked Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Biden credited the United States’s economic power to immigrants, using China, Russia, and Japan as a contrast.
“Why is China stalling so badly economically, why is Japan having trouble, why is Russia, why is India, because they’re xenophobic,” he said, according to Reuters. “They don’t want immigrants. Immigrants are what makes us strong.”
Since the end of World War II, Japan has served as one of the U.S.’s closest allies, particularly in serving as a key bulwark against China following its takeover by the communists in 1948. Biden’s comments mark one of the harshest criticisms of the country by a U.S. president since the end of World War II.
Jeffrey Hall, Japanese studies lecturer at Kanda University of International Studies in Chiba, Japan, told NBC News that the comments weren’t diplomatically wise.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/foreign-policy/2988095/biden-blasted-attacking-ally-comparing-japan-russia-china-not-something-diplomatic/