US President Joe Biden mispronounced new UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's name while calling the UK premiership of Rishi Sunak a "groundbreaking milestone". Joe Biden gave a shoutout to an Indian-origin Tory leader during a Diwali celebration at the White House on Monday.
Like most of the other world leaders, Biden is also getting used to the Indian-descent Sunak's name. During his address, Biden called him "Rashi", which was a full vowel off Sunak's name Rishi. But that slip mattered little to his audience - Indian Americans at a White House celebration of Diwali hosted by the President and First Lady Jill Biden with Vice-President Kamala Harris, the first Indian-American elected to that office.
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"We've got news Rashi... Rashi Sunook is now the Prime Minister," Biden said to a cheering audience of Indian Americans, adding, "As my brother would say 'Go figure'."
President Biden has not officially said anything yet on Sunak's emergence as the presumptive Prime Minister - although he was aware of the next steps as he said, "I think tomorrow when he goes to see the King" - so his remarks at the Diwali event were politically astute.
Sunak's rise has been followed closely by Indian Americans, especially those who see in him - "a proud Hindu", as he has called himself.
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Sunak was born into an Indian-descent family that immigrated to the UK from East Africa. His father's family traces descent to Gujranwala in Pakistan and he is the first person of colour to hold the top democratically elected position in the county that was once an empire that never saw the setting sun.
During the celebrations, Vice President Kamala Harris also spoke about celebrating Diwali with her mother's family on their visits to India. Shyamala Gopalan, her mother, came to the US to study medicine and stayed on to become a cancer researcher.
