RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — President Joe Biden was accidentally a missing man in the traditional photo of world leaders during the final Group of 20 summit of his presidency Monday, a botched photo shoot that U.S. officials attributed to timing.
Instead, Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrived after photographers had already taken the official photo, while other world leaders were busy chatting after laughing and raising linked hands for the photo.
The timing put Chinese President Xi Jinping front and center among the rows of leaders standing against the blue sky and water in Rio de Janeiro.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stood, less visible, in the back row.
A senior Biden administration official, who was not authorized to comment publicly, said Biden and other leaders missed the photo due to “logistical issues.” Biden was supposed to be in the photo, but that happened earlier than planned.
Biden and Trudeau arrived together at the designated photo spot, where they stood for a while and watched. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also did not participate in the group photo, a standard part of such summits.
