U.S. President Joe Biden had an old, reliable stand-in when he fell behind schedule at the U.N. climate conference.
U.S. climate envoy John Kerry tried to keep the program moving along when Biden didn’t show up on time for a Tuesday side event on reducing methane gas emissions..
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Kerry, who served in the U.S. military, said the delay – and wait – reminded him of the Navy.
“We had a saying: Hurry up and wait,” he joked before returning to his seat.
The wait for Biden continued. When the president arrived, Kerry, a former U.S. senator and secretary of state, then went to the mic a second time to deliver a lengthier introduction.
“I’ll do what I learned to do in the Senate, which is filibuster,” Kerry said, referring to the practice of U.S. senators talking ad nauseum to delay votes.
Biden’s tardiness was never explained.
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Biden attracted criticism earlier in the meeting, when he appeared to fall asleep.
Take a look —
Biden appears to fall asleep during COP26 opening speeches pic.twitter.com/az8NZTWanI
— Zach Purser Brown (@zachjourno) November 1, 2021
John Kerry, stalling for a late President Biden: “I’ll do what I learned to do in the Senate, which is filibuster.”
— Scott Detrow (@scottdetrow) November 2, 2021
The Associated Press contributed to this article.