The resurgence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was at the heart of the meeting between Joe Biden and Gabriel Boric, President of Chile, on Thursday, November 2. In his Oval Office, the US head of state gave an analysis of the extent of the current conflict between Israel and Hamas in history, according to remarks reported by the White House. "In my opinion, there are moments, maybe every six to eight generations, when the world changes in a very short period of time," he told his Chilean counterpart, who added: "We are at that moment."
Nearly a month after the bloody attack on Hamas fighters in Israel, and as Israel pounds the Gaza Strip to annihilate the terror organization, the two heads of state stressed the gravity of the moment. "I think what happens in the next two or three years will determine what the world looks like for the next five or six decades," Biden said. "Together, maybe we can make it better," he told his counterpart, as Chile and the United States celebrate 200 years of bilateral relations.
"The only problem I have with you is that you're too young"
In its statement, the White House also reported the beginning of the conversation, which took on a surprising tone. Gabriel Boric, who in 2021 became the youngest president in his country's history at the age of 35, is being chastised by the US president about his youth. "Listen, you know, the only problem I have with you is that you're too young," said Joe Biden, who, at 81, is the oldest president in U.S. history. "It's not a problem," his interlocutor replies bluntly, which triggers a mixed laugh, according to a reference to the official White House statement.
Joe Biden, himself elected senator at a very young age, compared his own story to that of the Chilean president. In 1972, when he was 30 years old, the Democratic president became the youngest congressional senator at the time. "I was elected when I was 29 years old. You had to be 30 years old to be a senator. I had to wait," he told his Chilean counterpart, before congratulating him: "President, it's pretty good, man." Recalling that he himself arrived at the Chilean Congress at the age of 27, Gabriel Boric added. "Well, so we share the same path ... I hope to get as far as you do."