President Biden continues to look weak in front of world leaders. This is not only a bad look for him but also a bad look for the United States of America. For all the criticism Vice President Kamala Harris has received, deservedly so, she showed up to former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s funeral; Biden did not.
Abe was assassinated on July 8. He was 67 years old. Ishii, a YouTube commentator, told Fox News:
“I think that it would be significant for Biden to come here now, especially because the threat of China right now is rising more than ever. Taiwan is in danger, and what we hear in Japan is that after Taiwan, it’s Japan.”
As we know, U.S. government officials consider Japan to be one of the closest allies and partners. Biden has already said that U.S. forces would defend Taiwan if China invades. But if world leaders see Biden as weak and clueless, they will take advantage of that.
According to Japan’s defense minister, China launched five missiles that landed in Japan’s exclusive economic zone.
Ishii continued, saying:
“Now is actually the good time to show our message that Japan and the U.S. stand together strongly against China.”
Ishii considers herself a conservative, adding that Biden is missing out on a rare opportunity for “funeral diplomacy.”
“Our prime minister, [Fumio] Kishida, is having bilateral talks as much as he can during the three days before and after the … state funeral. Biden is not taking advantage of this situation. I think it’s unfortunate.”
Ishii added that Biden would have presented himself “as a strong leader of the United States” if he had attended Abe’s funeral.
“We [could] see that ‘oh, America is America, it’s strong’ and ‘We have to keep the world order with the leader America.'” But because he’s … choosing not to come, I think it’s working in favor for China.”
Per Fox News:
The U.S. is the only Quad member state not sending its top leader to Abe’s funeral. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese are set to attend the ceremony alongside Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Ishii concluded by speaking about the Quad:
“When I think about politics, I think about how our enemies receive our message. The message that Biden is sending by not coming here is that he doesn’t think so much about the Quad.”
Politics aside, especially regarding China, the U.S. must be united because that shows strength. If countries like China and Saudi Arabia see weakness and division, they will feel emboldened.