Biden Calls US Allies Japan & India 'Xenophobic': "They Don't Want Immigrants"
President Biden chose a strange moment to lash out at allies and humiliate them, given his administration is busy trying to build international consensus against Russia as it continues the war in Ukraine, and on sensitive flashpoint issues like the Israel-Hamas conflict.
On Wednesday Biden called Japan and India 'xenophobic' during off-camera remarks at a campaign fundraiser in D.C. He included these longtime US allies in the controversial statement alongside Washington rivals and enemies China and Russia.
He said all of these countries are unwelcoming to migrants ultimately "because they are xenophobic." Leaders in Japan and India are without doubt blistering with outrage.
"This election is about freedom, America and democracy. That’s why I badly need you. You know, one of the reasons why our economy is growing is because of you and many others. Why? Because we welcome immigrants," the president began.
"The reason — look, think about it. Why is China stalling so badly economically? Why is Japan having trouble? Why is Russia? Why is India? Because they’re xenophobic."
And he continued to pile on: "They don’t want immigrants. Immigrants are what makes us strong. Not a joke. That’s not hyperbole, because we have an influx of workers who want to be here and want to contribute," he added.
The criticism of Japan comes at the very moment Tokyo and Washington are deepening their defense cooperation in regional waters, with an eye on countering Chinese influence and maritime expansion. Yet Biden just lumped Japan and China together in the devastating criticism.
But Japan seems to be doing just fine in comparison to the United States on a socio-economic level. Anyone who has traveled to Japan in the last number of years has likely witnessed the phenomenon of streets and cities that are so safe that 8-year old children can wonder freely and no one will give it a thought.
Pot, meet kettle...
Violence is exceedingly rare in Japan. The murder rate is so small that is barely registers.
— Bloomberg Opinion (@opinion) August 1, 2019
Similarly, its crime rate has continued to plummet in recent years, leaving some police departments with little to do https://t.co/4X8h7UzYu9 pic.twitter.com/xKyhF463G8
As for India, one very obvious reason they are not opening the flood gates of immigration (assuming there are even many foreigners actually seeking to enter and settle in the highly population dense south Asian country to begin with), is that they have a struggling economy and over 1.4 billion people to look after.
Recently, President Biden hosted Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (in early summer) and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio - with the latter visiting the Oval just last month. Both were treated to state dinners, and of course Biden didn't have the guts to tell these key leaders to their faces that their countries were 'xenophobic'.