President Joe Biden made some very unkind comments about Japan on Wednesday, comparing the nation to Russia and China over what Biden says is economic stagnation due to "xenophobia."
According to Fox News, Biden said that Japan isn't accepting enough migrants to their country leading to an economic downturn. It's an odd statement to make, given Japan's status as an important ally:
"This election is about freedom, America and democracy. That’s why I badly need you. You know, one of the reasons why our economy is growing is because of you and many others. Why? Because we welcome immigrants," he said.
"Why is China stalling so badly economically? Why is Japan having trouble? Why is Russia? Why is India? Because they’re xenophobic," the president continued.
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"They don’t want immigrants. Immigrants are what makes us strong. Not a joke. That’s not hyperbole, because we have an influx of workers who want to be here and want to contribute," he said.
Japanese politicians didn't take this insult lying down. Responding to Biden's accusations of xenophobia, Mizuho Umemura, a member of the conservative Nippon Ishin no Kai Party who holds a seat in the House of Councilors, pointed out that migration is a huge problem in Europe and that few countries have actually solved that issue.
Umemura noted that Biden should "solve the problem in New York before he says things like this," and that the next presidential election could see a complete reversal of America's immigration policy, so there is "no need for Japan to follow suit."
The leader of the right-leaning Sansai Party, Sohei Kamiya, was less polite.
"It's not that we're xenophobic, we are being cautious after seeing your failures," Kamiya said of Biden and his policies. "You are meddling too much in our internal affairs."
Biden's staff is already running defense for Biden and his uncalled-for remarks about our allies. National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communication John Kirby attempted to pass Biden's fumble off as praise for Japan, not an insult.
"Look, I think the broader point the president was making, and I think people all around the world recognize this, is that the United States is a nation of immigrants and it's in our DNA," said Kirby. "We're stronger for it. We're not going to walk away from it. And that's the broader point that he was making."
"Again, making a broader point about this country, our country," he added. "Our allies know very well how much the president respects them, values their friendship, values their contributions. And you don't have to look honestly very far, very hard to see that bear out in the things that we've been doing in the Indo-Pacific with Japan, South Korea, the Philippines."
Karine Jean-Pierre also attempted to do damage control when challenged about his wording on Japan's immigration policies. When asked, KJP first said the President was "very clear," but was further asked for clarification to which she gave a word-salad response.
"He was talking about who we are as a country," said KJP. "He was talking about the importance of being a country of immigrants, especially as you see the attacks that we have seen very recently in the last couple of years on those attacks — on immigrants in particular."
"And so it's important for us to remember we're a country of immigrants," said KJP.
It's unclear what attacks on immigrants KJP is referring to and there didn't seem to be any clarification.
What we have seen, however, are immigrants attacking American citizens, including police officers. The issue is so bad that as RedState reported on Wednesday, a Gallup poll found illegal immigration was the number one issue for Americans for a third consecutive month.