Are the leaders getting up to anything spicy in their bilateral meetings and social time?
Kumar: Biden saw the Queen after 40 long years! It’s remarkable but the White House tells us that Biden last met with the Queen in 1982. The Bidens attended a reception at Eden Project, an eco-park in Bodelva that has several giant domes housing what it calls the largest rainforest in captivity. He was joined by Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge. Alas, the White House press corps was shut out of the event or I’d tell you more.
Anita Kumar, White House Correspondent & Associate Editor:
Greetings from Biden world, where I was traveling with the president today. The moment that got the most attention by the small group of White House journalists I was with today was when Biden and Marcon wrapped their arms around each other and walked along the St. Ives Bay toward the start of the summit. They had never met before but they seemed to engage in an animated conversation that included talk about how to make democracies more effective for the middle class, one of Biden’s frequent mantras
Karl Matheisen, senior climate correspondent:
The G-7 climate Pickachu protests. Giant yellow Pikachus descended on Cornwall to push alleged Pokémon fan Japanese PM Yoshihide Suga on his coal policy. The moral: “being inside a Pikachu costume is like a worst case global warming. Hot, sweaty and a constant fear you’re gonna fall into the sea.”
(Editor’s note: We live in interesting times. Local police in Cornwall initially thought the Pickachu mob was a rowdy bachelor party, President Biden’s motorcade dodged protesters dressed as jellyfish.)
Nahal Toosi, Foreign Affairs Correspondent:
We need to find out exactly how Kate Middleton treated Meghan Markle. This should have been the first lady’s primary mission, and the U.S. public should expect a report.
Rym Momtaz, Paris correspondent:
More seriously, FLOTUS talking about early childhood issues with Kate Middleton is a striking choice. Jill Biden is a lifelong teacher, and the Duchess has worked on the issue for years now.
Pikachus and Kate Middleton win the day at G-7, obviously
Sometimes a 1 billion vaccine dose plan is too little — and too slow
From left, Britain's Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, and First Lady Jill Biden laugh during a visit to Connor Downs Academy in Hayle, West Cornwall, during the G7 summit in England on Friday. | Aaron Chown/Pool photo via AP
> Would you like to take a long walk on a beach with Justin Trudeau? He’s free tomorrow at 6 a.m. in Carbis Bay, Cornwall. Must be willing to share him with security detail.
> At least Trudeau knew where he was when he went for his morning run Friday: Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi was overhead asking Boris Johnson in front of the cameras: “Is this Land’s End?” — a landmark 20 miles away.
It’s fair to say that the serious work of Day 1 of the G-7 summit fell a bit flat. A crowd ranging from UNICEF to Tony Blair thinks the plan for one billion donated vaccine doses in 2021 and 2022 is too little and too slow.
You know what they say: give Pikachu and Kate Middleton an inch, and they’ll win the news cycle.
Let’s get down to business.
What was today’s most memorable summit moment?
The line of the day was, after the family photo of leaders, Merkel urging Johnson to move ahead, telling him “you are the leader.” Steady! The top-line announcement of one billion jabs and a plan to vaccinate the world by the end of next year hardly set the G-7 alight — lots of questions about both the speed and scale of the proposal. The word is we will be getting a fair bit more than just the billion jab announcement this weekend, stay tuned!
Greetings from Biden world, where I was traveling with the president today
OK, if that's not enough
China is the elephant in the room. Discuss.
What do we make of the G-7 special guests: India, South Africa, South Korea and Australia
What's next? Boris Johnson might have set up the biggest G7 clash of all: he’s scheduled the closing press conference to coincide with an international soccer match between England and Croatia, which is not the best way to sell foreign policy to the English middle class.
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