Dictator Gets Upset When You Call Him a Dictator

President Biden creates a diplomatic kerfuffle by accurately describing Chinese communist Xi Jinping.

James Freeman

June 23, 2023 4:22 pm ET

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken shakes hands with Chinese dictator Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on June 19. Photo: leah millis/Press Pool

Could President Joe Biden’s oratorical skills be improving with age? This column has been saying for a while that President Biden should avoid public speaking—at least on consequential issues—given his habit of making confused and dangerous misstatements. But one must give credit where credit is due. This week the president was precisely accurate in describing a foreign leader whom Mr. Biden had previously mischaracterized.

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