“That fellow Down Under”: Biden’s blunder in historic announcement
United States President Joe Biden has seemingly forgotten Scott Morrison's name in an historic press conference.
The joint announcement with the UK, US and Australia saw the three politicians come together for a virtual press conference to discuss their new trilateral security partnership.
Amid the President's speech, Biden thanked "that fellow down under" for bringing the three countries together.
"Thank you Boris, and I want to thank that fellow down under,” he said.
“Thank you very much, pal! Appreciate it, Mr Prime Minister."
Biden quick backtracked and address Scott Morrison by name as he thanked him for the partnership, but the blunder was not missed by those on Twitter.
Social media users criticised Biden's fumble and said the announcement would have been "more significant" if Mr Biden hadn’t forgotten Mr Morrison’s name.
One person tweeted, "Surely 'that fella Down Under' is the equivalent of running into someone in a pub whose name you can't remember and can only come up with 'Maaaaate'."
Another wrote, "Well. AUKUS is off to a good start..."
The announcement shadowed a statement of Scott Morrison's on Thursday, as he confirmed that Australia would be utilising British and American technology to build its next fleet, replacing the existing Collins class submarines.
The Prime Minister made it clear that Australia was not planning to create any nuclear weapons or a civil nuclear capability, and will abide by all non-proliferation obligations.
The news comes with the official forming of a security partnership between the three powerful country, called AUKUS, with a focus on new technologies.
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