Biden's ‘no alcohol’ toast at state dinner leaves PM Modi laughing

US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden hosted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for state dinner at the White House.

Published on: Jun 23, 2023, 06:49:33 IST

By HT News Desk

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US President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday shared some light-hearted moments as they raised a toast during the state dinner at the White House. With both President Biden and PM Modi being teetotalers, the former recounted his grandfather's advice on raising a toast without alcohol.

President Joe Biden offers a toast during a State Dinner for India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House in Washington, Thursday, June 22, 2023. (AP)

Speaking at the high-profile event, attended by around 400 guests, Biden said his grandfather, Ambrose Finnegan, used to say “If you give a toast and you don't have any alcohol in the glass, you must do it with your left hand. You all think I’m kidding. I’m not.”

The guests present in the audience broke into laughter as the translator tried to translate it into Hindi.

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“Jill and I have had a wonderful time with the Prime Minster today, during your truly productive visit. Tonight we celebrate the great bonds of friendship between India and the United States,” Biden said.

Prime Minister Modi thanked the US President and First Lady Jill Biden for hosting the dinner and opening their doors for him.

“I want to thank US President Joe Biden for this wonderful dinner today. I would also like to thank First Lady Jill Biden for taking care of my visit to make it successful. Yesterday evening you opened the doors of your house for me,” PM Modi said.

“This evening is made special by the presence of the people of our two countries, they are our most precious assets,” the prime minister said, adding that the guests in the audience “symbolise a lot about the US-India relationship - our energy, our dynamism, and our potential.”

Titans of business, fashion, entertainment and more made the guest list for Thursday's big White House dinner in honour of PM Modi, with the likes of designer Ralph Lauren, filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan and tennis legend Billie Jean King rubbing shoulders with tech leaders from Apple, Google and Microsoft.

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