There was no photo finish for President Joe Biden.
The outgoing American leader arrived for a family picture with world leaders during his final Group of 20 summit on Monday, only to find the photo had already been taken without him.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer were among those who did make it, smiling and raising linked hands for the traditional summit set piece.
A senior U.S. official attributed the mix-up in in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to logistical challenges.
“Due to logistical issues, they took the family photo early before all the leaders had arrived. So a number of leaders weren’t actually there when they took the photo,” said the senior official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Biden was nowhere to be found until just after the photo was taken, when photographers and reporters began searching frantically for him.
One cameraman spotted him behind a nearby palm tree alongside Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Italian premier Giorgia Meloni.
Trudeau and Meloni also missed the photo.
When asked whether Biden intentionally skipped the photo to avoid standing near Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the official dismissed the idea, stating, “It was just simply logistical issues.”
During the first session of the summit on Sunday, Biden reflected on his impending departure from the White House.
“As you know, this is my last G20 Summit. We’ve made progress together, but I urge you to keep going — and I’m sure you will, regardless of my urging or not,” he told fellow leaders.
On Monday, a senior aide acknowledged that many nations were already anticipating the very different global leadership of President-elect Donald Trump, but emphasized that Biden remains fully in charge.
“We have a system, fundamentally, that’s predicated on one president at a time,” said Jon Finer, deputy national security adviser. “President Biden is that president, he will be handing off power in January, and it will be up to a new administration to decide what to do with it.”
On Sunday, Biden himself acknowledged the limited time left in office.
“It’s no secret that I’m leaving office in January,” Biden said. “I will leave my successor and my country a strong foundation to build on, if they choose to do so.”
The G20 Summit involves the Heads of State or Government of 19 member countries and two regional bodies: the African Union and the European Union.
The member countries represent around 85% of the world’s GDP, more than 75% of world trade and around two-thirds of the world’s population, according to the forum.
The G20 was established in 1999 in response to the Asian financial crisis, initially serving as a forum for finance ministers and central bank officials to discuss economic stability.
It has since evolved into a high-level meeting of heads of state.
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