LUANDA, Angola (AP) 鈥 President Joe Biden's long-delayed trip to Africa had many of the hallmarks of a traditional state visit: There was a 12-shot cannon salute. A series of warm handshakes with Angolan President Jo茫o Louren莽o. Celebratory music. Photo opportunities.
But another issue overshadowed the visit. When reporters tried to question the president about why he after repeatedly saying he would not do so, Biden tried to brush aside the questions. He gestured toward Louren莽o and laughed, declaring, 鈥淲elcome to America.鈥
Biden saluted Louren莽o for his efforts to bolster stronger U.S. relations, declared that would shape the world's future and even indulged his love of trains by championing a major railway project that his administration says could change the way the entire continent does business.
Some takeaways from the president's visit:
(Don't) meet the press
Biden offered the joke about America before his meeting with Louren莽o, and he answered a question on Tuesday about the political situation in South Korea, saying only that he'd not been briefed 鈥 something that was rectified moments later when advisers filled him in on what was happening as the motorcade sped away from a site where he'd given a speech.
Other than that, Biden went the entire trip, which began Sunday night and included two brief stopovers in Cape Verde in addition to Angola, dodging reporters. He did similar during last month's .
Biden's press secretary tried to explain the pardon decision
Since Biden announced his pardon decision shortly before climbing aboard Air Force One bound for Africa, it fell to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre to spend nearly half an hour offering long and awkward answers to uncomfortable questions aboard the aircraft hours later.
Biden said in a statement explaining the pardon that, while he believed in the justice system, he also felt that politics had infected the cases against his son and 鈥渆nough was enough.鈥 Jean-Pierre maintained that he wasn't trying to have it both ways.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think it鈥檚 a contradiction,鈥 she said. 鈥淭wo things could be true. You can believe in the Department of Justice system, and you could also believe that the process was infected politically.鈥
She also bristled when it was suggested that such complaints about the Department of Justice smacked of President-elect Donald Trump's of federal bureaucrats that he's said for years are out to unfairly undermine him and fellow top Republicans.
鈥楢ll in on Africa鈥 鈥 with time running out
During his meeting with Louren莽o at the presidential palace, Biden said, and extolled how strong Angolan relations were with Washington.
His administration has invested billions in Angola, with the centerpiece being promoting the Lobito Corridor, a vast project to revitalize supply chains by refurbishing 800 miles (1,300 kilometers) of train lines in Angola, Zambia and Congo.
Given where Angola was barely a generation ago, the alliance is in many ways remarkable.
An oil-rich nation on Africa's southwest coast, Angola achieved independence from Portugal in 1975, but spent subsequent years embroiled in civil war, which often featured proxy fighting between U.S.-backed forces and those allied with the Soviet Union. Even today, the country's red and black flag features a yellow machete and half-cog, an insignia resembling the Soviet hammer and sickle.
But Biden leaves office on Jan. 20, and Louren莽o, like many leaders of African nations, has already begun suggesting that he's looking toward a Trump-dominated future.
Biden administration officials say they're hopeful Trump and top Republicans will continue a business-friendly approach to investing in Africa that includes continuing to support the Lobito Corridor.
Now the Africa policy will be up to Trump
Biden lauded Louren莽o for helping boost his country's relationship with the United States, and he said the youth of Africa would change the world. He also visited the country鈥檚 national slavery museum, stressing how Angola and the United States 鈥 which were once linked by the horrors of enslaved human beings, now could increasingly be linked by economic opportunity.
But if Biden came to Angola hoping to cement his foreign policy legacy in this country and throughout Africa, it will actually fall to Trump 鈥 the man he and spent much of 2024 running against before in July 鈥 to see it through.
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