“I don’t think I’m going to go home,” joked the American president in front of his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo, enthused about the paradisiacal beach in front of his hotel.
At a Monday night press conference in a tropical garden, Biden’s first words to reporters were: “Welcome to Bali.” Words that, accompanied by a small chuckle, seemed to sum up what everyone was feeling at the time: a cocktail of moist heat, stunning scenery and lush nature, a thousand miles from the rigid formalism of the White House.
The television journalists mopped their faces with towels. A chorus of crickets sang so loudly that even the waterfalls in the garden were inaudible. After hours of flying to chain summits, first in Egypt then in Cambodia and Bali, many were very tired. Biden himself hoarsely admitted to having caught “a little cold.”
And yet, the dominant impression given off by the veteran Democrat was very Balinese: relaxation.
A week earlier, the president was preparing for a trip marred by the humiliating defeat in the midterm elections that many predicted. But instead, Biden can savor the far worse-than-expected results for Republicans in the House of Representatives, and especially the Democrats’ continued control of the Senate.
Even better for Biden: The poll reflected a sharp rejection from Donald Trump’s supporters. This reinforces Biden’s thesis that his victory over Trump in 2020 was not an ordinary event but the start of an existential battle for the future of the country and its democracy.
Last week’s poll “sent a very strong message around the world that the United States is ready to play its part,” Biden said. According to him, the results showed that “we will remain fully engaged in the world”.
A self-confidence and optimism that Joe Biden continued to display during his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the summit. The two men often crossed paths during their long respective political careers. But it was their first in-person interview since Biden became president.
– Warm meeting with Xi –
“I’m really happy to be able to see you again in person. We spent a lot of time together, when we were both vice presidents, and it’s nice to see you,” Biden said with his signature smile. .
Xi is not known for his public joviality and his reappointment last month for a historic third term as superpower China puts him in a strong position.
But he, too, seemed to capture the island’s nonchalant vibe. Noting that he and Biden had made numerous phone calls and exchanged letters, he added that nothing could “replace face-to-face conversations.”
“We finally have this face-to-face meeting,” he said.
The scene did not escape the Global Times. “This long-awaited scene between China and the United States has timely soothed and comforted the tense emotions of the world,” enthused this English-language Chinese state media.
Admittedly, no progress has been announced regarding the dispute over Taiwan. And no one expects a thaw in trade relations between the two countries.
At the G20, Joe Biden will struggle to get non-Western countries to increase pressure on Russia over Ukraine.
Back in the United States, the president should quickly be confronted with the harsh reality of cohabitation with a Republican House of Representatives. Even with a shaky majority, the far-right wing of the party is eager to turn the last two years of Joe Biden’s term into a merciless political war.
It may not be a coincidence that Donald Trump has set the likely announcement of his 2024 presidential bid for Tuesday night in Florida. Around the same time, Wednesday in Bali, Biden will board Air Force One to return to Washington.
In the meantime, and for a few more hours, Biden is clearly enjoying his victories – and the beach. “I guess you’ll all go swimming when you leave here,” he told reporters on the move. “It’s not far.”
