Biden speaks with German, Angolan leaders after postponing trip

U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with the leaders of Germany and Angola Thursday after cancelling his planned visits to the countries.

The White House announced Tuesday that Biden postponed his trip, which was originally planned to begin this week, so that he could oversee the federal response to Hurricane Milton.

He has maintained that he would work to reschedule the visits, but neither readout of his calls with their leaders mentioned any new dates, or efforts to establish new plans.

The White House said in a brief two-sentence statement that during his call with Angolan President Joao Lourenco, Biden "thanked President Lourenco for his continued leadership on both regional and global priorities and underscored the U.S. commitment to deepening our strategic partnership with the government and people of Angola."

Biden's Oct. 13-15 trip to Angola was to be his first to Africa since he assumed office in 2021, and was expected to fulfill a long-standing promise to visit the continent before he leaves office.

Regarding Biden's call with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, the White House said Biden "underscored the enduring strength of the U.S.-German relationship and noted his intention to continue our strong collaboration on geopolitical priorities, including supporting Ukraine's defense against Russian aggression."

No other details of either call were made available.