Biden: Rise of ‘Rashee Sanook’ to PM matters
JOE Biden congratulated Rishi Sunak on achieving a “ground-breaking milestone” – then made a hash of pronouncing his name.
The US President, speaking yesterday at a White House event to mark the Indian holiday of Diwali, said what sounded like “Rashee Sanook”.
In part of his speech, Mr Biden said: “And whether it’s the United Kingdom, where just today, we’ve got news that Rashee...Rashee Sanook is now the Prime Minister.”
He went on to say that becoming the first prime minister of colour was: “Pretty astounding. A ground-breaking milestone. And it matters, it matters.”
Mr Biden and Mr Sunak spoke on the phone late last night.
A No 10 spokesman said: “Mr Biden said the UK remains America’s closest ally. The leaders discussed the extent of UK-US cooperation, both bilaterally and in regions such as the Indo-Pacific where the AUKUS pact forms part of our efforts to enhance stability and counter China’s malign influence.
“They reflected on the leading role our countries are playing in supporting the people of Ukraine and ensuring Putin fails.
“The leaders looked forward to meeting at the G20 Summit in Indonesia.”
Mr Biden, who at 79 is the oldest president in American history, has been gaffe-prone for most of his career but US commentators believe he is getting worse.
One of his biggest foot-inmouth moments came last month when he publicly sought out Republican congresswoman Jackie Walorski at a White House function, asking from the podium, “Jackie, are you here? Where’s Jackie?”
He forgot she died in a car crash the month before and that he had given a long statement mourning her loss.