'That Fellow Down Under': US Prez Joe Biden Forgets Aussie PM Scott Morrison's Name While Thanking Him

It was quick to make headlines all over Australia, "'Thanks pal': Biden appears to forget Morrison's name," Cairns Post wrote.

US President Joe Biden participates is a virtual press conference on national security with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (R) and Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison in the East Room of the White House in Washington DC. (AFP Photo)

New Delhi: The US President Joe Biden made Australians cringe when he forgot their Prime Minister's name then referred to him as "that fellow Down Under" while thanking him for joining a major new defense alliance. 

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australia's Scott Morrison had joined the televised White House announcement virtually during which he revealed that the agreement will equip Australia with nuclear-powered submarines. 

"Thank you, Boris and... and I want to thank that fellow Down Under. Thank you very much, pal. Appreciate it, Mr Prime Minister," Biden said. 

President Joe Biden has a list of such slip-ups, while the US is used to their president's gaffes netizens and the Australian media latched on to the embarrassing moment.

It was quick to make headlines all over Australia, "Thanks pal': Biden appears to forget Morrison's name," Cairns Post wrote.

The defense deal "may not have got off to the shining start for which Morrison hoped, of course, when US President Joe Biden appeared to forget his name at the crucial moment", said a report by the Sydney Morning Herald. 

However, the signing of the AUKUS military pact between the United States, United Kingdom, and Australia has been hailed as successful by all the involved quarters, a move that would establish a security partnership for the Indo-Pacific.

The United States & its allies are making ways to push back against China's growing power and influence, especially in the military. 

“We need to be able to address both the current strategic environment in the region and how it may evolve because the future of each of our nations and indeed the world depends on a free and open Indo-Pacific enduring and flourishing in the decades ahead,” Biden said during his address.