Luanda, Angola — That may have been the symbol of President Biden’s seemingly jinxed visit to Angola.
Postponed to 2023 due to war in the Middle East.
Postponed again to 2024 due to devastating hurricanes in the south.
And on the only full day of Biden’s first trip to Africa as president, the skies opened and torrential rain poured down, flooding poorly drained roads.
As a result, the President and his press team’s one-hour departure from the capital, Luanda, where Biden was to give a speech at the National Slavery Museum of Angola, was almost cancelled.
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Fox News senior diplomatic correspondent Greg Palcott stands as President Biden speaks at the National Slavery Museum in Luanda, Angola. (Greg Palcott/Fox News)
Of course, all of this happened in a week where other news was raining down just as hard as that rain. First is Biden’s self-inflicted pardon for his son Hunter. The murder of an executive in Manhattan. The collapse of the governments of two of our most important allies. And the ongoing drama surrounding President Trump’s cabinet appointments.
But, like Biden, rather than daring to walk up the smooth marble stairs to the museum itself, he stood at a podium dramatically positioned along the Atlantic coast, with sunlight filtering through dark clouds. .
He spoke about the role colonial powers played in sending thousands of people into slavery, including in the United States. Angola was a major player in the Atlantic slave trade.
“It’s our duty to face history,” Biden said, “the good, the bad, and the ugly.
But he also spoke about the real reason for the trip: to help the strategically located southwestern African country of Angola stabilize for the future. By 2050, just 25 years from now. Africa will become the world’s most populous continent.
“In many ways, Africa’s success will be the world’s success, and I said at the 2022 U.S.-Africa Summit that the United States is fully committed to Africa’s future,” Biden said. Ta.
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A poster depicting President Biden and Angolan President João Lourenco during a welcoming ceremony at Katumbela Airport, Angola, Wednesday, December 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
To address the current situation, Biden made a surprise announcement to provide $1 billion in U.S. humanitarian aid to help people displaced in Africa by drought and extreme weather events.
Earlier in the day, Biden spoke about the future in a one-on-one meeting with Angolan President Joao Lourenco. The Lobito Corridor is a $4 billion U.S.-backed rail and infrastructure project designed to transport critical minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia and agricultural and other industrial products from Angola to Angolan ports. There is. .
Cityscape of Luanda, the capital of Angola. (Greg Palcott/Fox News)
“We will work together to mobilize more capital,” Biden declared, “to build more infrastructure, help deliver these solutions, and help Africa lead the way.” said.
Critics derided it as a “too little, too late” attempt to catch up with China, which has been busy with infrastructure and other projects across Africa for years.
John Kirby, the White House director of national security communications, responded in an interview with Fox News. “It is important for them (Angolans) to be more involved in terms of catching up, catching up and bringing their products to market.”
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Greg Palcott’s press credentials include Angola’s Soviet-style flag. (Greg Palcott/Fox News)
Expected mention of an expanded role for the US military in Angola did not materialize. The United States has already sent hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid to the country. There is new talk of locating a US military base there to counter the increasingly active Russian military on the continent.
But the “elephant” that was sure to lurk in every meeting and gathering was the fact that Biden is now very much a lame-duck president, and that President-elect Trump never made a single visit to Africa during his first term. The fact was that there was no. Even if you make derisive comments about a particular country, they will be dealt with.
Angola’s president said in a recent interview that he would cooperate with whoever becomes president.
President Biden stands for the national anthem with Angolan President João Lorenco at the Presidential Palace in Luanda, the capital of Angola, on Tuesday, December 3, 2024. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)
And indeed, in an interview with Fox News, former Trump envoy to Africa J. Peter Pham said he thinks many of the projects can survive, especially if China gets hurt.
But he added: “I think the new administration will be asking very tough questions about our investments on the continent, where they’re going and whether it’s the best return on capital.”
Prosperity and poverty in the capital Luanda. (Greg Palcott/Fox News)
On the final day of his visit, Biden toured the Lobito rail hub, where large-scale projects are concentrated. After stating during a roundtable discussion with other community leaders that he is a fan of Amtrak rail, he was seen closing his eyes and holding his head in his hands, as if he were asleep. Senator between Washington and Delaware.
But, as most Angolans seem to think, the 82-year-old president has played his role pretty well in the so-called “global finale.”
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The test will be whether the benefits from these projects extend beyond oil-rich Angola to the predominantly young Angolans who are desperate for their lives and livelihoods.
“Just the fact that Americans are coming to Angola is a good thing,” said one Luanda resident.
Despite bad timing and bad news elsewhere, many here have hope.
