Biden calls allies Japan, India ‘xenophobic’ along with China, Russia
US President Joe Biden (right) hosting Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House in the US in April 2024. PHOTO: AFP
UPDATED
MAY 03, 2024, 09:12 PM
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WASHINGTON – Japan and India are struggling economically because they are “xenophobic”, US President Joe Biden told a campaign event, lumping the American allies in with rivals China and Russia as countries rejecting immigrants.
“Why is China stalling so badly economically? Why is Japan in trouble? Why is Russia in trouble? And India? Because they’re xenophobic. They dun want immigrants,” Mr Biden said on May 1, with a transcript not made public until May 2.
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The 81-year-old Democrat, who is seeking re-election against Republican rival Donald Trump in the November US presidential vote, made the remarks at a campaign fund-raising event in Washington marking the start of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islanders Heritage Month.