Joe Biden appeared to get the nations of Haiti in the Caribbean and Kenya, seven thousand miles away in East Africa, confused at a press conference yesterday.
President Biden made a joint appearance with Kenyan president President William Ruto during President Ruto’s State Visit to the United States, where Biden declared Kenya was a close non-NATO ally to the US and lauded the African country’s commitment to lead a UN-backed, multi-national police force in Haiti.
Plans have been in motion since October for Kenya to lead the international force, including 1,000 Kenyan police officers, to fight the powerful gangs who control large parts of the Haiti's capital and the surrounding region. In response to a journalist who questioned why President Biden was dragging the African country into a conflict far from its borders, Biden said the US wanted to do “all it can” without coming off as heavy-handed or calling the shots in Haiti.
"There's a lot going on in this hemisphere, and we're in a situation where we want to do all we can without us looking like America once again is stepping over, deciding this is what must be done," Biden said.
READ MORE: Joe Biden blasts Trump for using 'Hitler language' as former president removes 'unified reich' video
"Haitians are looking for help as well as the folks in the Caribbean are looking for help. And so, we checked out with a number of other countries. The one who stepped up was Haiti,” he said, appearing to mean Kenya.
“We committed to provide the wherewithal, the intelligence and equipment and the like to Haiti," Biden continued, appearing to confuse Haiti with Kenya a second time. "So it's a logical thing. And you have a first-rate capability, and you keep your word. That's an important dynamic," he said.
Following a slight pause, the Kenyan president said: “I agree with president Biden, that Kenya’s participation in Haiti is not so much about what happened in the past, it's about what we believe in, the peace and security of humanity.” He emphasised that it was Kenya’s choice to get involved in Haiti, not that of the US.
For all the latest on news, politics, sports, and showbiz from the USA, go to The Mirror US.
President Ruto reinforced that idea that the US was not committing Kenya to the conflict in Haiti, saying: “We don't find that the US is committing Kenya, because the US cannot commit Kenya," Ruto said. "I am the president of Kenya. It's up to me to make that decision."
Kenya has contributed to peacekeeping efforts around the globe for the past 40 years, helping in 47 countries, he said, including “very difficult neighbourhoods” like Haiti, he later added.