Yesterday, Tough Guy Joe Biden decided to stick his neck out and issue threats to Russian President Vladimir Putin and when I read through his non-teleprompter remarks, the first thing that popped into my head was Tough Guy Joe’s tough talk about the Taliban in July 2021.
Remember?
On July 8, 2021, Joe assured reporters that the Taliban was no match for the Afghan military and it would absolutely not take over Afghanistan once the United States left.
The Afghan forces that old Joe confidently declared capable of stopping 75,000 Taliban were no match for the Taliban.
Six weeks after Biden made those confident pronouncements, the Taliban entered Kabul, the Afghan president fled the country, and Joe Biden fled the White House for Camp David.
After what happened in Afghanistan, listening to Joe Biden’s confident assertions yesterday about how Putin wouldn’t get away with what he got away with is hard to take seriously. And I doubt that Vladimir Putin is shaking in his boots over PeePaw’s threats.
Before I saw Joe’s remarks yesterday, I happened across a Twitter thread from Financial Times Moscow chief Max Seddon who recapped Vladimir Putin’s speech before the official annexation of four regions of southern and eastern Ukraine. And let’s just say I found it rather chilling.
Vladimir Putin isn’t the Taliban. He isn’t some mountain denizen hiding in a cave; he is the president of a nuclear-armed power. So his vow to lead the fight to defeat Western hegemony is concerning, to say the least.
At one point in his thread, Seddon writes, “I’ve watched a lot of Putin speeches over the last 10-15 years and this is the most anti-USA one by a really long way. If I were a western policymaker wondering if he’d really use nuclear weapons – and he hasn’t even got to them yet – I’d be very concerned.”
As Putin finished up his remarks, Seddon added, “That was a truly stunning speech – one clearly aimed at sending fear into the hearts of the US, UK, and European leaders.”
That being said, the very last person who should be allowed to weigh in on Putin’s speech is Joseph Robinette Biden Jr.
But he did.
After finishing up his teleprompter remarks about the hurricane response in Florida, the guy who’s bungled every foreign policy challenge to come over the transom decided to say a few words about Putin’s speech:
“You know, America and its allies are not going — let me emphasize this — are not going to be intimidated. Are not going to be intimidated by Putin and his reckless words and threats. He’s not going to scare us, and he doesn’t … or intimidate us.”
Well, if anybody would know about reckless words and threats, it’s Tough Guy Joe.
“Putin’s actions are a sign he’s struggling. A sham referenda he carried out. And the … this routine he put on …”
(Addresses reporter looking at the teleprompter
“Don’t worry, it’s not on there, if you’re looking, okay?”
Yes, we were all able to figure that out on our own, Joe.
“The … he … the sham routine that he put on this morning that is showing the unity and … you know … has people holding hands together.
“Well, the United States is never going to recognize this. And quite frankly, the world is not going to recognize it either.
“He can’t seize his neighbor’s territory and get away with it. It’s as simple as that.
“And we’re going to stay the course. We’re going to continue to provide military equipment so that Ukraine can defend itself and its territory and its freedom, including additional resources that the Congress is going to give me today of 13 billion more dollars to help the Ukrainians defend themselves and fight back.”
Not to quibble, but it’s 12 billion (not that that’s any better).
“And we’re fully prepared to defend — I’m going to say this again — America is fully depa- … prepared with our NATO Allies to defend every single inch of NATO territory — every single inch. So, Mr. Putin, don’t misunderstand what I’m saying: every inch.”
Less than two weeks ago, Joe vowed that the United States would defend Taiwan against Chinese aggression. And now he’s vowing that the United States will “defend every single inch of NATO territory.”
You got that, Putin?
Every single inch!
Every inch!
Tough words from the guy who got rick-rolled by the Taliban.
Having a senile old man who just a few days before was searching the audience for a dead woman now issuing threats to a nuclear-armed nation is more than a little concerning.
Just eight months ago, Biden was warning Putin not to invade Ukraine or else. He boasted that Moscow would be deterred because he would hit Russia with sanctions so tough, Putin’s head would spin.
Putin, undeterred by Biden’s tough talk, invaded Ukraine anyway. And what did Tough Guy Joe do? He backpedaled, claiming his threats of sanctions were never meant to deter Russia.
BIDEN: "I did not say that, in fact, the sanctions would deter him. Sanctions never deter. You keep talking about that. Sanctions never deter."
I wrote at the time:
How Joe sees himself is radically different from how the rest of the world sees him.
Old Braggart Joe believes he is the smartest, most experienced foreign policy tough guy to ever strut across the world stage. Every utterance that tumbles from his mouth is sacrosanct and should never be challenged.
Part of Joe’s braggadocio likely stems from the fact that the White House is keeping him in the dark about the fact that Joe Biden is not the guy in charge of the Biden administration.
We know he’s in not in charge. The White House knows he’s not in charge. Foreign leaders know he’s not in charge. And the press knows he’s not in charge.
The only person who doesn’t know that Joe’s not in charge is Joe Biden.
Now, I don’t know if Vladimir Putin’s speech was just bloviating for a Russian audience or if he truly intends to follow through on his threats. But given that he invaded Ukraine despite the plaintive pleas of NATO, I’m not prepared to rule out that he is mad enough to move against the West, especially if he feels provoked.
And Joe Biden matching Putin’s reckless rhetoric with his own reckless rhetoric certainly could be seen by Putin as a provocation.
Remember when they claimed that Trump was going to start World War Three?
Yup. Trump was so dangerous that America had to elect the senile old coot who gets humiliated by a band of AK-wielding goat-herders and is now threatening a nuclear power that has already shown its willingness to go to war with a neighboring country.
Exactly one month before Russia invaded Ukraine, I asked, “Is this senile, bungling clown dragging us into war?”
Joe Biden is no longer the powerless goofball Senator or Vice President we could laugh at and dismiss. He’s the President of the United States. His bungling isn’t a laughing matter anymore. Now it could get Americans killed.
Nothing has changed.
Getting into a pi**ing contest with Vladimir Putin and playing chicken with a nuclear-armed adversary that is already engaged in a military conflict in Europe just so you can strut around and play the tough guy isn’t just reckless. It’s insane.
Then again, Joe Biden’s mouth has always been a weapon of mass destruction. And it isn’t just Russia that is currently in the blast radius.