Biden calls Japan, India xenophobic while praising value of immigration – National [Video]

U.S. President Joe Biden has called Japan and India “xenophobic” countries that do not welcome immigrants, lumping the two with adversaries China and Russia as he tried to explain their economic circumstances and contrasted the four with the U.S. on immigration.

The remarks, at a campaign fundraising event Wednesday evening, came just three weeks after the White House hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for a lavish official visit, during which the two leaders celebrated what Biden called an “unbreakable alliance,” particularly on global security matters.

The White House welcomed Indian Prime Minister Narenda Modi for a state visit last summer.

Japan is a critical U.S. ally. And India, one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, is a vital partner in the Indo-Pacific despite differences on human rights.

At a hotel fundraiser where the donor audience was largely Asian American, Biden said the upcoming U.S. election was about “freedom, America and democracy” and that the nation’s economy …