President Biden, who is widely viewed as one of America's greatest Presidents, respected around the world and EVEN IN HIS 80's one of America's sharpest minds - gave a 23 minute press conference in Hanoi on September 10, 2023. He been in India earlier that day.
Although it was late, he answered 5 questions posed by reporters from Reuters, Bloomberg, BBC, AFP, and VOA with lucid and detailed responses.
The VOA reporter tried to pose a 5th and 6th question on top of each other, to which the President politely replied, finishing with, "But I tell you what, I don’t know about you, but I’m going to go to bed."
The VOA reporter then shouted "What did you and Li talk about?" And the President - unfailingly polite - muttered something before a staffer mercifully ended the exchange.
Some reporters are frankly stupid. The President was on a 5 day trip around the world and didn't have time to just "chat" by recounting every conversation he had with every official.
Go President Biden! Your intelligence and humanity are unmatched. It is unfair of us to beg you to be our President for another four years but we need you...
Interesting that Pres. Biden was in Hanoi. Flew direct from India. I flew from Bangkok.
Spruce's Travel Journal 29 Mai 1994
"It's hard to describe my feelings on going to Vietnam. Excitement. Fear. Curiosity. Shame. ... I'm ashamed of my country for engaging in that war... I wanted to see who these people were that beat us, what they are like, what special quality they have."
"Hanoi is beautiful! The rice paddies are neat and well-kept. The houses nestled among the trees. The streets aren't crowded with cars but w/ motorbikes that flit like fireflies through the cool summer evening around the lake, beeping and weaving in a complex and beautiful dance that reflects on the waters."
@spruce112358 I lived in Thailand for several years and it was similar in architecture and beautiful Wats. I also was able to visit Laos with their lovely French buildings, Takek was mind blowing. Had quite a trip on the Mekong getting back, but that is another story.
@spruce112358said Interesting that Pres. Biden was in Hanoi. Flew direct from India. I flew from Bangkok.
Spruce's Travel Journal 29 Mai 1994
"It's hard to describe my feelings on going to Vietnam. Excitement. Fear. Curiosity. Shame. ... I'm ashamed of my country for engaging in that war... I wanted to see who these people were that beat us, what they are like, what special quality th ...[text shortened]... around the lake, beeping and weaving in a complex and beautiful dance that reflects on the waters."
You and Sonhouse should convert your journals to books, you would sell out.
Is that the press conference where he starts mumbling and freezes up, then an aide says "That will be the end of the conference" and leads him off stage?
@spruce112358 Actually it was something like that. Coming back to Thailand, the boat carrying me and a dozen other passengers died in the middle of the Mekong and we started drifting towards Vietnam, not a great idea ATT🙂 The river was pretty active flowing pretty fast so the Thai's put out a boat to get us off the dead one and that was a trip in itself, transferring a dozen or so people to the good boat in the boiling waters of the Mekong river, boats bobbing up and down but we managed to get into the second boat without too much trauma and made our way back to the safe borders of Thailand.
@AverageJoe1 I can only assume that is sarcasm. Thanks a lot. We lived exciting lives as opposed to you who probably never even saw Mexico much less gone around the world several times living and working overseas for years.
@sonhousesaid @spruce112358 Actually it was something like that. Coming back to Thailand, the boat carrying me and a dozen other passengers died in the middle of the Mekong and we started drifting towards Vietnam, not a great idea ATT🙂 The river was pretty active flowing pretty fast so the Thai's put out a boat to get us off the dead one and that was a trip in itself, transferring a doz ...[text shortened]... into the second boat without too much trauma and made our way back to the safe borders of Thailand.
So many memories. The weirdest one may have been a waiter, leaning close and whispering in my ear, "We are NEVER free! We want the Americans to come back."
Swimming in Halong Bay. Seeing the DMZ up to Khe Sanh, the tunnels at Vinh Muoc. Da Nang. Hue. The American War Crimes Museum with all the Agent Orange awfulness.
Riding in a cyclo through the pouring rain and insane traffic of Saigon* to get to a bar named 'Apocalypse Now' where they served a drink called a 'B-52.' 😲
Can't make this stuff up... half a lifetime away, now.
Biden Gives Incredible Press Conference in Hanoi Last September
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