President Biden awkwardly stood in the back corner of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) family photo on Saturday, as other prominent world leaders were spotted front and center.
Chinese Premier Xi Jinping was placed in the front-center of the photo, next to Peruvian president Dina Boluarte. Boluarte hosted the world leaders in Lima for this year’s APEC summit.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was seen in the front row on Xi’s right, along with Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Pictures show Biden smiling and laughing with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra of Thailand while the family photo was being taken. This weekend, Biden had closed-door meetings with a variety of leaders, including Boluarte and Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba.
The photograph’s placement of Biden, who is leaving office in January, departs from where American leaders typically stand. Last year, Biden was center in the 2023 APEC family photo, which was hosted in San Francisco. Trudeau and Xi were on Biden’s right.
In 2017, former President Trump stood towards the front-center of that year’s APEC family photo, along with Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
The conference came nearly two weeks after the 2024 presidential election, where Vice President Harris lost to Trump in a huge upset victory. Biden met with the Republican leader this week to discuss the transition process.
‘I look forward… to having a smooth transition. We’ll do everything we can to make sure you’re accommodated, what you need,’ the Democratic president said to Trump during the meeting.
‘I appreciate very much the transition that’s so smooth,’ Trump replied. ‘It will be as smooth as it can get, and I very much appreciate that.’
Fox News Digital’s Paul Steinhauser and Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
