Biden Reportedly Skipping Olympics, First Lady Now Set to Meet with World Leaders by Herself
President Joe Biden will be at the White House when the Olympics open in Tokyo next month, but the Biden family will be represented at the Olympic Games, according to a new report.
First lady Jill Biden will be present for the July 23 opening ceremonies, the Yomiuri Shimbun daily — a Japanese newspaper — reported on Sunday, according to Reuters.
The newspaper said that Biden may also meet with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.
France, which is scheduled to host the 2024 Olympics in Paris, is sending President Emmanuel Macron to the opening ceremony, Reuters reported.
The news that Biden is sending his wife to Tokyo caused a buzz on Twitter.
Jill Biden is going replace Joe Biden and attend the Tokyo Olympics. Joe is too frail to travel that far.
— Susan St. James (@SusanStJames3_) June 27, 2021
The real story here is “VP” Jill Biden will travel to Tokyo because the real VP isn’t capable.
Report: First Lady to Replace Joe Biden at Tokyo Olympics, Host Diplomatic Meetings https://t.co/AU8PtiBxDy
— Karl (@fadedjeans63) June 27, 2021
[firefly_poll]
Unelected Jill Biden to Replace Sleepy Joe Biden at Tokyo Olympics, Host His Diplomatic Meetings…?
— Tidal Disruption (@TDisruption) June 27, 2021
Last week, the first lady was dispatched to Mississippi and Tennessee to add White House luster to efforts to increase COVID-19 vaccinations in those two states, according to The Washington Post.
Although the president, at age 78, traveled to Europe for meetings with NATO allies and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, he has left the lion’s share of travel to others, chiefly Vice President Kamala Harris.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said after meeting with Harris on a recent trip to Mexico that he called her “president,” according to the New York Post.
The Olympics are taking place against a backdrop of concern from Japanese citizens that the event could lead to a spike in coronavirus infections.
To address that concern, athletes from India and other countries that are battling the Delta variant of the virus will be asked to take tests for seven days before coming to Japan, according to a new report.
Japan is targeting athletes from India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported, according to Reuters.
The new rule regarding testing will be put in place July 1, the newspaper reported.
Athletes from other nations are being ordered to take coronavirus tests twice over the four days before they head for Tokyo.
Olympics Minister Tamayo Marukawa said on Friday that a member of the Ugandan Olympic team had tested positive for the coronavirus, and that the athlete had the Delta variant of the virus, according to Reuters.
Games organizers have said they will allow Olympic venues to hit either 50 percent capacity or no more than 10,000 fans, according to Fox News.
One condition of attending is that fans must not cheer the athletes.
Further, virtually all spectators will be Japanese. A ban was issued in March to keep foreigners other than athletes from coming into the country for the Olympics.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
