Albanese says he can learn from his ‘fit friend’, Joe Biden

Philadelphia: President Joe Biden has given Prime Minister Anthony Albanese a rare tour of his private home in Delaware as they seek to bolster security in the Indo-Pacific region amid international anxiety over the US election.

Albanese was the first foreign leader invited to the home known as “Lake House”, due to the man-made lake on its grounds, since Biden became president.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Joe Biden at Biden’s Lake House home in Wilmington, Delaware.Credit: Prime Minister’s Office

The lengthy tour of the property was followed by a 90-minute meeting in which they discussed China’s rise, political violence in the US, climate change, the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, and the AUKUS submarine pact.

Speaking in Philadelphia after their meeting, a visibly grateful Albanese launched a staunch defence of the 81-year-old president, who withdrew his re-election bid in July after ongoing concerns about his age and ability to do the job for another four years.

“He’s fit, he is totally on top of his brief, and he is someone who it’s a great privilege to spend time with,” said Albanese, who was also treated to a state visit at the White House in Washington last year.

“I regard him as a friend, and importantly, someone who I can learn from.”

Albanese and Biden exchange gifts.Credit: Prime Minister’s Office

Albanese’s visit comes four months before Biden leaves politics after a 52-year career, and ahead of this weekend’s summit of the so-called Quad alliance between the US, Australia, Japan and India, which the president elevated after his election to act as a counterweight to China.

Biden’s unusual decision to host the Quad leaders about 176 kilometres from the White House comes amid growing uncertainty over the direction of US foreign policy should former president Donald Trump be re-elected on November 5.

With polls showing Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris currently neck and neck, White House officials said they were determined to use the weekend to “institutionalise” the alliance over the long term.

As for the submarine deal between Australia, the UK and the US, Albanese said: “There’s no question in my mind that AUKUS will continue to have the support of any future US administration.”

The Quad summit will coincide with a presidential election marked by unprecedented upheaval and political violence, and comes days after a second attempted assassination on Trump.

Asked by this masthead if the violence was something he discussed with Biden, Albanese said: “We did have a discussion about politics, including here [in the US] … Democracy is something we can’t take for granted. We need to cherish it. We need to nurture it. And there’s no place for violence in democratic processes – whether it be the extreme examples of assassination attempts, obviously, but other forms of violence as well.”

Other Quad leaders will also tour Biden’s home – a 630-square-metre mansion on 1.6 hectares in the upscale neighbourhood of Greenville – when he hosts separate meetings with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is also resigning from politics, and the recently re-elected Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, who plans to meet with Trump next week.

The leaders will then convene at Archmere Academy, the private Catholic college where Biden went to school, where the leaders are expected to redouble their countries’ maritime security efforts in the Indo-Pacific, particularly after confrontations between Chinese and Philippine vessels in the disputed South China Sea.

Biden, Albanese, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a Quad meeting in Japan last year.Credit: AP

Biden is also expected to use the Quad meeting to elevate one of his most prized initiatives: his cancer “moonshot program”, with Australia set to play a key role in efforts to reduce cervical cancer in the Indo-Pacific, where some nations have particularly high rates of the disease.

“What you’ll see coming out of the summit is at least threefold,” said Mira Rapp-Hooper, a special assistant to the president, as she previewed the meeting.

“First, you’ll see that the Quad is more strategically aligned than ever.

“Second, you’ll see that the Quad is delivering real results for our partners in the Indo-Pacific, in the areas that they identify as most important to them.

“And third, the Quad is not just the initiative of any one administration or any one country, but an initiative that is designed to endure for the long term.”

In the US Congress, a bipartisan House and Senate “Quad caucus” has also been created, comprising politicians from both sides of the aisle “to foster stable collaboration for years to come”.

“Together we’re sending a strong message to our allies and partners – and our competitors – that the United States is here for the long haul,” said Senator Tammy Duckworth, a Democrat.

Albanese and Biden exchanged gifts during the former’s visit. Albanese was given a book on the school Biden attended, while Biden received a leather jacket from the Royal Australian Air Force with his name on it.

“He was chuffed,” Albanese said.

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