Joe Biden CAN say Rishi’s name! US president smooths over gaffe in call

Joe Biden smoothed over his clumsy efforts to say Rishi Sunak’s name in video showing the first call between the leaders.

Footage released by Downing Street reveals the warm opening exchanges between the PM and the US president, with Mr Biden clearly calling him ‘Rishi’.

The conversation came after gaffe-prone Mr Biden offered congratulations to ‘Rashee Sanook’ during a Diwali event on Monday.  

During the call on Wednesday, the PM seemed eager to avoid any embarrassment for the president, saying ‘it’s Rishi Sunak, how are you?’

Mr Biden responded: ‘Oh Rishi, how are you? Congratulations Mr Prime Minister.’  

Footage released by Downing Street reveals the warm opening exchanges between the PM and the US president, with Joe Biden clearly calling him ‘Rishi’ 

The leaders reaffirmed the ‘special relationship’ between the UK and US, and agreed on the importance of supporting Ukraine.

They stressed the importance of working together to address the challenges posed by China and to secure sustainable and affordable energy resources, according to a White House readout.

However, potential points of friction remain, with the paid also covering the Northern Ireland protocol situation.

Mr Biden, who is proud of his Irish heritage, has repeatedly urged the UK to settle the dispute with the EU and protect the Good Friday Agreement.

The tensions appear to have put paid to hopes of an early Transatlantic trade deal, which some Tories believed was within touching distance when Donald Trump was President.

In his speech on Monday, Mr Biden seemed to ridicule the chaotic events in the UK, and express surprise that the Conservatives had installed a PM with Indian heritage.

‘As my brother would say, ”go figure”!’ he said, to a round of laughter from the audience.

‘And the Conservative Party, expected to become the Prime Minister, I think, tomorrow when he goes to see the King.

‘Pretty astounding. A groundbreaking milestone. And it matters, it matters.’

Mr Sunak, a successful former banker, is the first non-white PM and the first from an Indian background, after his grandparents migrated to the UK.    

Meanwhile, Tories have hit back at US climate envoy John Kerry after he urged King Charles to attend the COP27 summit.

As Rishi Sunak dropped plans to go to Sharm el-Sheik amid the rush to finalise the Budget, Mr Kerry waded in to say Charles taking part would be ‘very powerful’ and ‘make a difference’. 

But former Cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg criticised the breach of protocol saying it is ‘not for the American government to advise the King on his engagements’.

He also swiped that ‘a lot of people being self-important and emitting huge amounts of carbon to get there’ would not solve the problems, saying Mr Sunak is ‘absolutely right not to attend. 

‘It won’t actually achieve anything, it will just have a lengthy discussion and the PM has a job to do,’ Mr Rees-Mogg added. 

As Prince of Wales, Charles was a long-term campaigner on environmental issues. However, since becoming the monarch he has stepped back from anything that might be seen as political. 

Liz Truss was said to have advised the new King to sit out the summit when she was in No10. 

Joe Biden (speaking at the White House this month) stumbled over Mr Sunak’s name at a Diwali event this week