With Biden “in the club” with international leaders, American mainstream media heaped laudatory praise on Biden. The right found every opportunity to criticize him, though some made it personal and unprofessional.
Summary
The G-7 summit wrapped up this weekend with few bombshells and little drama, but President Joe Biden closed the meeting by calling it “extraordinarily collaborative” and declaring “America’s back in the business of leading the world.”
- One of several joint declarations, the leaders of seven of the world’s leading nations pledged to stop government support for “unabated coal” (coal energy production without any means of emissions reduction) by the end of the year.
- China dominated the conversation at the G-7 summit, including a joint statement criticizing China’s treatment of Muslim Uighurs and refusal to cooperate in any investigation into the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.
- China’s response rejected the statement, saying its “internal affairs must not be interfered in.”
- The G-7 also voiced support for the continued talks surrounding Iran and restarting the Iran Nuclear Deal.
- Following the G-7 summit, President Biden is off to continental Europe for a slate of meetings, including one with Russian President Vladimir Putin, a meeting expected to be “frosty.”
- CNN’s analysis of the G-7 summit heaped praise on Biden for “return[ing] the United States to the type of consensus-based diplomacy” and gushing over the international camaraderie Biden enjoyed over ice cream sundaes.
- The New York Times’ coverage gave generally positive reporting though noted while the G-7 nations showed a united front on Russia and China, some disagreements on timelines for climate change initiatives and limiting China’s expansionism were evident.
- CBS News headlined their coverage with President Biden’s declaration that “America is back at the table” and will “do our part”, while detailing the topics in the summit’s “communique”, a 25-page document on broader goals of cooperation among the seven nations.
- The Daily Caller noted Biden’s confusion during a press conference, repeatedly referring to Libya when he apparently meant Syria, and saying it was used by Biden’s political critics online to “[question] the state of his cognitive abilities”.
- RedState called the press conference a “sheer train wreck” and that Biden “can’t even be counted on to push back on Putin” in the upcoming meeting.
- Sen. John Thune told Newsmax before the summit that Biden is operating from a “position of weakness” because of the lack of priority national security has in Biden’s agenda and budget.
- One of the general agreements reached was to work towards a minimum global tax rate for businesses, an objective The Federalist decried as a “bad idea” and a “violation of an individual nation’s sovereignty.”
Author’s Take
The “results” of G-7 and G-20 summits rarely produce anything concrete or actionable. It’s mostly a time for elites to pal around and make vague platitudes about cooperation and respect for each other. Don’t expect any of this to make a larger difference.
The notion that “America is back” is problematic. American media coverage of it is purely partisan and a clear dig at President Trump, who, it should be pointed out, secured multiple lasting peace and cooperation agreements between Israel and former enemies.
That being said, some of the coverage of the summit from the right was unbecoming and unprofessional. Making fun of President Biden’s goofs as a sign of cognitive decline is over the line.
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© Dallas Gerber, 2021
