In 2025, the president of the Dominican Republic invited his US counterpart to Punta Cana.
This week, President Luis Abinader of the Dominican Republic caused controversy by promoting a Caribbean resort to US President Joe Biden, who is well-known for spending a lot of time at the beach.
Abinader expressed his excitement for the 2025 Summit of the Americas, saying, “where we will continue to develop the bonds of security, prosperity, and democracy that bind us together,” during a photo session at the White House on Thursday.
Abinader continued, “And that summit will be in Punta Cana, so you’ll have time to be on the beach.”
Punta Cana is located on the island nation’s Coconut Coast, a 30-kilometer stretch of sand beaches and glistening waters that is home to numerous opulent resorts.
But, Abinader’s lighthearted remark embarrassed Biden since the American people thought the president of the Dominican Republic was making fun of the US president because of his penchant for beach vacations.
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In May, a Republican organisation estimated that Biden had vacationed 40 percent of his time as president, mostly at his Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, home. His most recent visit took place in October, following the start of the conflict between Israel and Gaza, which prompted rapper ’50 Cent’ to criticise the president in a widely shared social media post.
The rapper posted on Instagram, saying, “We got some real sh*t going on out here, Joe.” “Is the goal to relax and gain tan? Come on, please.
US President Bill Clinton founded the Summit of the Americas in 1994 with the goal of “promot[ing] economic growth and prosperity throughout the Americas based on shared democratic values.” In 2022, the most recent one took place in California.
The security situation in Haiti, which shares an island with the Dominican Republic, was another topic of discussion between Abinader and Biden. The White House statement of their conversation states that the US leader praised the president of the Dominican Republic for his support of Ukraine.
