“That fellow Down Under”: Biden’s blunder in historic announcement
<p>United States President Joe Biden has seemingly forgotten Scott Morrison's name in an historic press conference. </p>
<p>The joint announcement with the UK, US and Australia saw the three politicians come together for a virtual press conference to discuss their new <span>trilateral security partnership.</span></p>
<p><span>Amid the President's </span>speech, Biden thanked "that fellow down under" for bringing the three countries together. </p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr">🇦🇺 'I want to thank that fella down under.'<br /><br />🇺🇸 President Biden appears to forget the name of Australian PM Scott Morrison 😬 <a href="https://t.co/2aCUbUBjdz">pic.twitter.com/2aCUbUBjdz</a></p>
— GB News (@GBNEWS) <a href="https://twitter.com/GBNEWS/status/1438250398033326087?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 15, 2021</a></blockquote>
<p>"Thank you Boris, and I want to thank that fellow down under,” he said.</p>
<p>“Thank you very much, pal! Appreciate it, Mr Prime Minister."</p>
<p>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. </p>
<p>Social media users criticised Biden's fumble and said the announcement would have been "more significant" <span>if Mr Biden hadn’t forgotten Mr Morrison’s name.</span></p>
<p><span>One person tweeted, "Surely 'that fella Down Under' is the </span>equivalent of running into someone in a pub whose name you can't remember and can only come up with 'Maaaaate'."</p>
<p>Another wrote, "Well. AUKUS is off to a good start..."</p>
<p>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, <span>replacing the existing Collins class submarines.</span></p>
<p>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.</p>
<p>The news comes with the official forming of a security partnership between the three powerful country, called AUKUS, with a focus on new technologies. </p>
<p><em>Image credit: Getty Images</em></p>
