JOE Biden is leaving the US for his first international trip as president, with the G7, a meeting with Queen Elizabeth and tense talks with Vladimir Putin on the horizon.
Biden has set the stakes for his eight-day trip in sweeping terms, believing that the West must publicly demonstrate it can compete economically with China as the world emerges from the coronavirus pandemic.
The trip will be far more about messaging than specific actions or deals.
The paramount priority for Biden, who leaves on Wednesday for his first stop in the United Kingdom, is to convince the world that his Democratic administration is not just a fleeting deviation in the trajectory of an American foreign policy that many allies fear irrevocably drifted toward a more transactional outlook under former President Donald Trump.
“The trip, at its core, will advance the fundamental thrust of Joe Biden’s foreign policy,” said national security adviser Jake Sullivan, “to rally the world’s democracies to tackle the great challenges of our time.”
The president’s trip comes as a fake and misleading video was widely shared online suggested he had been impeached.
The clip, which was flagged as a hoax by The Poynter Institute’s PolitiFact website, was also identified as being misleading by Facebook as it continues to fight against misinformation being shared on the platform.
Read our Biden live blog below for the very latest news and updates…
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FIST PUMP
Joe Biden fist pumped as he boarded Air Force One.
Joe Biden raised his fist as he boarded this morningCredit: Reuters -
PRESIDENTIAL GOALS
Joe Biden will aim to reassure European capitals that the United States is a dependable partner after Russia’s aggression mounted both on their eastern front and online.
The priority for Biden is to convince the world that his Democratic administration is not just a fleeting deviation in the trajectory of an American foreign policy, reported AP.
“The trip, at its core, will advance the fundamental thrust of Joe Biden’s foreign policy,” said National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. «[It’s] to rally the world’s democracies to tackle the great challenges of our time.”
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CICADA ATTACK
Joe Biden was bothered by a cicada before departing for the UK this morning.
Video footage from Air Force One showed the president batting off the loud insects before his first trip abroad.
It comes after the pesky bugs filled the engines of a flight that was supposed to accompany Biden today, delaying the departure.
Last night, The White House press charter, flying from Dulles to Europe before Biden, was delayed for hours, reports say.
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GLOBAL PLAN
Joe Biden tells press as departing on first foreign trip that he has a Covid vaccine plan for the world, which he’ll be announcing during the G7 trip.
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BIDEN CLAPS BACK
Joe Biden weighed in on the Russian cyber attacks before leaving the US for Britain.
Speaking about what he planned to tell Vladimir Putin, Biden said it would be «making [it] clear to Putin and China that Europe and the United States are tight.»
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READY FOR TAKE OFF
Joe Biden was pictured boarding Air Force One en route to the UK this morning with First Lady Jill Biden.
The presidential couple departed shortly after 8.10am ET.
Their journey marks Biden’s first foreign trip as President to the UK, Brussels, and Switzerland.
The Bidens are seen departing the USCredit: AFP 
Biden boards Air Force One for his first overseas trip since CovidCredit: AFP -
WHAT IS BIDEN’S SCHEDULE?
Joe Biden will have a busy morning on Wednesday as he departs the White House for Royal Air Force Mildenhall, United Kingdom.
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TRADE ROW CONCERNS
Joe Biden is reportedly worried that a UK-EU trade spat will endanger peace in Northern Ireland.
His National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan revealed that Biden will tell fellow leaders at this week’s G7 summit the Good Friday Agreement must be protected, reported the BBC.
The UK and EU are disagreeing about goods checks going from Great Britain and Northern Ireland and in talks about simplifying the Northern Ireland Protocol, which set up a post-Brexit trade border.
This would stop goods checks along the Irish land border.
But some checks on British goods going to Northern Ireland has caused supply disruptions.
Unionists are angry because they do not wanted to be treated as though they are different from the UK.
«But whatever way they find to proceed must at its core fundamentally protect the gains of the Good Friday Agreement and not imperil that,» Sullivan said after one group wrote a letter to Boris Johnson to withdraw support for the agreement.
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WHAT IS BIDEN’S G7 SUMMIT AGENDA?
During his eight-day mission to rebuild trans-Atlantic ties after Trump, Joe Biden will focus on:
- Covid-19 vaccine
- Trade ties
- Climate
- Rebuilding infrastructure
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WHERE ARE HIS HOUSES?
Biden’s current home is located in Greenville, Delaware, in the Wilmington suburb.
He purchased the 6,850 square foot property in 1996 for $350,000.
Since then, the market value has increased, making the home worth nearly $1million.
While he was vice president he rented out the home to the secret service for $2,200 and wanted to sell it when his son Beau got brain cancer to afford his treatments.
However, President Obama at the time convinced him not to and loaned him the money instead.
In 2017, Jill and Joe purchased another property in Delaware for $2.7million.
The home is a short walk from the beach and has six bedrooms and outdoor amenities for entertaining guests.
It is located in Rehoboth beach and it overlooks Cape Henlopen State Park.
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HOW MANY HOUSES DOES JOE BIDEN HAVE?
Joe Biden, 77, is known as “Middle Class Joe” by his colleagues and took pride in his humble beginnings while running for office.
The former vice president along with Jill Biden own homes in Delaware.
Despite that, he has called himself “one of the poorest members of Congress” as he recounts the story of growing up with a father who experienced several financial hardships.
Biden claimed in his autobiography titled Promises to Keep that he always had an affinity for real estate saying: “Even as a kid in high school I’d been seduced by real estate.»
In 2007 his net worth was reportedly in the negatives due to all the outstanding mortgages he had when he took out loans in his early adulthood.
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HOW IS JOE BIDEN’S HEALTH?
After President Biden tripped up the stairs to Air Force One, the White House says it will be releasing a «comprehensive» report on the president’s health, but has yet to say when it will be made public.
«Absolutely,» said White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki. «I don’t have a timeline but absolutely we will do that, and I’ll check and see when he is due to go back to the doctor.»
The White House has been on the defensive regarding Biden’s health after he was seen on video tripping on the stairs up to Air Force One.
Biden was filmed falling three times on the steps of Air Force One before flying to Georgia.
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ROYAL FAMILY ANNOUNCES MEETING WITH BIDEN
Last week, the Royal Family officially announced that Queen Elizabeth would be meeting with Joe Biden.
«The Queen will meet the President of the United States of America and First Lady Jill Biden at Windsor Castle on Sunday, 13th June 2021,» their official Twitter page announced.
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WAS JOE BIDEN IN THE MILITARY?
President Biden was not in military and did not serve in war.
He received five student draft deferments due to medical exceptions during his time as an undergraduate at the University of Delaware, and at Syracuse University, where he studied Law.
During a physical assessment in April 1968 he was classified as I-Y, which meant he could only be drafted in the case of a national emergency.
During the Obama administration where Biden served as Vice President, a spokesperson said Biden didn’t serve as he was “disqualified from service because of asthma as a teenager.”
Although it’s common for US presidents to have military experience, former president Donald Trump also did not serve in the military.
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BIDEN TO DEPART FROM JOINT BASE ANDREWS
The President of the United States is set to depart from Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday morning.
He will be accompanied by his wife, First Lady Jill Biden.
They are scheduled to leave the base at 8.30am ET.
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WHITE HOUSE PRESS CHARTER DELAYED DUE TO CICADA ISSUES
The White House press charter for the European trip has been delayed due to «cicada-related mechanical issues.»
This meant that the flight was «delayed for several hours,» according to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.
It is unclear what time the issues were fixed by.
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US PRESIDENT TO SPEAK WITH PUTIN ABOUT CYBER ATTACKS
Biden’s summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 16 in Geneva is the capstone to the trip, an opportunity to raise US concerns directly with Putin about ransomware attacks emanating from Russia, Moscow’s aggression against Ukraine and a host of other issues.
It is the first time that the pair are meeting since Biden became President of the United States.
President Putin previously had friendly relations with the 45th president, Donald Trump.
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BIDEN TELLS WASHINGTON POST ABOUT WHAT TRIP MEANS TO HIM
Biden’s upcoming European trip represents a test of the Democratic president’s ability to manage and repair relationships with major allies who grew disenchanted with then-President Donald Trump’s trade tariffs and withdrawal from international treaties.
«Will the democratic alliances and institutions that shaped so much of the last century prove their capacity against modern-day threats and adversaries? I believe the answer is yes,» Biden said in an opinion article published in the Washington Post.
«And this week in Europe, we have the chance to prove it.
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NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISOR SPEAKS OUT ABOUT BIDEN’S TRIP
During a press conference on Tuesday, Biden’s National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan, spoke about the president’s upcoming trip to Europe.
«So, as you all know, this week President Biden will head off to Europe on the first foreign trip of his presidency — certainly not his first foreign trip, but the first one as President of the United States,» Sullivan said.
«And the trip, at its core, will advance the fundamental thrust of Joe Biden’s foreign policy: to rally the world’s democracies to tackle the great challenges of our time.»
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BIDEN SAYS TRIP IS ABOUT ‘REALIZING RENEWED COMMITMENT TO ALLIES’
President Joe Biden tweeted on Tuesday evening that his trip to Europe is about «realizing America’s renewed commitments to our allies.»
«Tomorrow, I depart for Europe on the first foreign travel of my presidency,» Biden tweeted.
«The trip is about realizing America’s renewed commitment to our allies and demonstrating that democracies can both meet the challenges and deter the threats of this new age.»
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QUEEN ELIZABETH TO HOST PRESIDENT AT WINDSOR CASTLE
The British monarch has spent much of the pandemic at Windsor, the oldest and largest inhabited castle in the world located to the west of London and the setting for the wedding of her grandson Prince Harry and his American wife Meghan in 2018.
That same year, the queen hosted former President Donald Trump at the castle while Barack Obama also visited her there in 2016, the day after her 90th birthday.
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BIDEN WILL COME FACE-TO-FACE WITH PUTIN NEXT WEEK
Biden will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin next Wednesday, their first face-to-face meeting since Biden became president.
White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Monday it was unclear whether the two leaders would hold a joint news conference after their talks.
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BIDEN WILL UNDERGO PRIVATE MEETING WITH PRESIDENT OF TURKEY
On June 14, Biden will meet NATO leaders and have a private meeting with the president of Turkey, Tayyip Erdogan.
He will then hold more NATO meetings before flying to Geneva for the night on June 15.
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PRESIDENT WILL MEET QUEEN ELIZABETH THIS WEEKEND
On Sunday, Joe Biden and his wife Jill will meet Queen Elizabeth at Windsor Castle.
Biden will become the 13th US president that the 95-year-old monarch has met during her record-breaking reign, and it will be her first such major engagement since the death of her husband Prince Philip in April.
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THREE DAYS AT THE G7 SUMMIT
Biden will attend the G7 summit for three days starting on Friday, to work on US policy priorities such as the economy and allied unity.
On Saturday, the president will have bilateral meetings with fellow leaders.
And on Sunday, he will finish his meetings at the event before leaving for Windsor Castle.