Quote:President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a virtual meeting/call today over the escalating tensions between Russia and Ukraine, a call brought on by U.S. intelligence reports that suggest Russia is preparing to amass 175,000 troops at the border in a matter of a few months.

U.S. officials said prior to the call that “Biden will tell Putin that Russia and its banks could be hit with the toughest economic sanctions yet if it invades Ukraine.”

Details of the call have not yet been released, but my RedState colleague Bill Robinson speculated here as to what might have been discussed and what it would mean not just for Ukraine but other countries in the region depending on how seriously (or not) Putin took Biden’s alleged sanctions threats.

Though it’s understandable that calls of such a sensitive nature between world leaders are not broadcast in full for the everyone to hear, one would think that in the interest of transparency the American press would get to document at least the start of it, if for no other reason to snag a quick video and a few photos as well as to get a general idea as to the moods of those participating on the call before the muscle-flexing and head-butting begins.

But that didn’t happen today. At least not with the American press. Unbelievably (or entirely believable considering the Biden administration’s open hostility to what typically has been a friendly-to-Biden/Dems press corps), the first glimpse the American people got of the call came through not anyone with the U.S. press but instead Russian state TV.

Note the wording on the screen. We don’t need a translator (nor a CNN reporter) to tell us this was not an American broadcast:

And just why is it that we didn’t get the U.S. media’s view of the early moments of the call? Because the Biden White House didn’t allow it:

This is so frickety friggin’ pathetic and embarrassing not just to me as a media analyst but also as an American citizen, so much so that I’m almost at a loss for words not. Almost but not quite.

It reminds me of the story from a few weeks ago where the Biden White House canceled the scheduled, traditional “Three Amigos” presser with the leaders of Canada and Mexico out of an abundance of caution because Biden made a series of blunders in the span of 24 hours earlier that week that had staffers behind the scenes struggling to correct the record.

What made that situation even worse was that on the day the three North American leaders met, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau actually scheduled his own presser with the Canadian press. Joe Biden did not do the same with the American press. So we had to learn details of their discussion from the leader of another country, not our own.

As I said at the time, we shouldn’t have to find out what happened (or get the general idea of what will happen) during a Biden event from the leaders of the countries that participated in the event, nor their media outlets (state-run or otherwise). We should be able to find out directly from our media and the White House, specifically the President of the United States himself, even if it’s just a few brief words.

Let’s also not forget the cringe-inducing moment from a public appearance Biden made at the White House with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in September where Johnson actually took questions from UK reporters and Biden’s handlers proceeded to cut Johnson off so the American press wouldn’t get the idea they could ask Biden some questions, too. When asked about the awkward moment later during a press briefing, press secretary Jen Psaki actually had the nerve to blame Johnson and his staff for not “alerting” the White House that that’s what he was going to do.

And in a similar incident a few days later, Biden actually urged India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to take questions from the American press because, in Biden’s words, the Indian press were “much better behaved” and the American press “won’t ask any questions on point.”

For all the whining from the media about Trump’s dislike of the press, at least he was honest about it. With the Biden administration, you get platitudes about “respecting and valuing” the freedom of the press while they simultaneously slap them in the faces and activate their media avoidance strategies as often as possible so as to avoid another Biden gaffe. This is, of course, not normal at all, but you probably already knew that.

We criticize the American media here often but it’s because of their liberal biases, not their existence. The press is there for a reason – to report the news and to hold the powerful accountable. The First Amendment guarantees their right to do so. That the President of the United States continues to turn his back on that hallmark fundamental of what makes this country great while leaders of countries with much less freedom in terms of press access embarrass him by at the very least giving off the impression of being transparent should not be lost on anyone.

Link

On opening of meeting:
Biden*: Who is the man in the box? Hahaha
Putin: ……Unbelievable
Biden*: my favorite is Rocky Road!
Putin: I love Democracy

LOL, Putin once again makes America look absolutely stupid. Russia TV openly shares the beginning of the video call; the Biden* Administration is so paranoid Biden* will say something stupid or defecate in his Depends or talk about "the pretty ceiling" during the broadcast that they do not allow any U.S. news station to be in the room.

Putin is brilliant.

Biden* and his team of paranoid handlers....not so much.

If Trump would've done that he'd be butchered by the media.

Biden does it and it's ok..

But tell us again how negative the press is to Biden.

Putin is playing chess while Spongebrain Sh*tpants isn't even playing checkers, he's in the corner trying to eat the game pieces.

Pootey-Poot likely watched that presser with that kid Sullivan.

Then immediately picked up his batphone and simply said "Move the invasion plans up 2-3 weeks, we got this".

What a disaster. Be nice or we'll really put on some sanctions on your banks... Any one think he gives a schit or two?

(12-07-2021 01:06 PM)boss man Wrote:  LOL, Putin once again makes America look absolutely stupid. Russia TV openly shares the beginning of the video call; the Biden* Administration is so paranoid Biden* will say something stupid or defecate in his Depends or talk about "the pretty ceiling" during the broadcast that they do not allow any U.S. news station to be in the room.

Putin is brilliant.

Biden* and his team of paranoid handlers....not so much.

The Biden* Regime is stupid though.

(12-07-2021 02:23 PM)No2rdame Wrote:  Putin is playing chess while Spongebrain Sh*tpants isn't even playing checkers, he's in the corner trying to eat the game pieces.

I think Biden is playing checkers ................. Chinese Checkers.

(12-07-2021 05:15 PM)ODU BBALL Wrote:  

(12-07-2021 02:23 PM)No2rdame Wrote:  Putin is playing chess while Spongebrain Sh*tpants isn't even playing checkers, he's in the corner trying to eat the game pieces.

I think Biden is playing checkers ................. Chinese Checkers.

He can't play Chinese checkers because he lost his marbles long ago.

(12-07-2021 04:15 PM)CrimsonPhantom Wrote:  

I can't imagine Biden clearly laying out his underwear for tomorrow, so I find this highly suspect.

Careful there, kiddie sniffer Joe. This is Putin you're dealing with, not fictitious Corn Pop.

Joe Biden Discusses His Meeting With Putin -- and He Really Shouldn’t Have

Quote:Yesterday, Joe Biden held a meeting with Vladamir Putin in which the former tried to convince the latter not to invade Ukraine. For months, the Russians have been building up forces on the border, threatening to move into the Eastern European country as they did with Crimea back in 2014.

How did that meeting go? Well, the White House wouldn’t allow the press to observe it and refused to provide a read-out (remember when that was a scandal under Donald Trump?), but because Russia did allow some media in on their end, we know that Biden started things by forgetting to turn his mic on. From there, indications are that sanctions and other consequences were discussed.

Today, we got a little more detail from the President of the United States as he spoke to the press for about two minutes. Biden began his comments by laughing for some reason, after which he launched into his typical tough guy act that absolutely no one buys.

For the love of all that is holy, keep this man in the basement. I mean that seriously and not at all as a compliment to Putin. Biden is uniquely unequipped for this moment. A president needs to be sharp and project strength. Biden projects senility, and when he attempts to sound tough, it just comes off as cringey and forced. The Russians have to be laughing at this performance.

In that sense, letting Biden rant about “serious consequences,” while at the same time giving up the leverage of possibly using force, is dangerous. It would be better to have some mystery afoot about what the US president is going to do. Instead, Biden rushes to rattle his saber about…economic sanctions?

I can assure you if there’s one thing Putin doesn’t care about, it’s economic sanctions. Not only have those been tried in the past to little or no effect, but Putin’s financial hand has only gotten stronger now that the Nordstream 2 pipeline has been greenlit by the Biden administration. If we wanted to put the brakes on Russia’s ambitions, the time to do that was almost a year ago. Now, there is no real chance Germany will go along with holding up the pipeline since they have placed so much of their future energy prospects in its completion.

In summary, there’s a difference between sounding tough and having the credibility to be tough. Biden is a legend in his own mind, but that’s where the tale ends. No one on the world stage actually sees him as an authoritative figure not to be messed with. And when he goes in front of cameras and fumbles around as he did today, it only emboldens our enemies to keep lashing out. Biden actually projects more strength when he’s in hiding than when he speaks. That’s not great, Bob.

But elections have consequences, regardless of how you feel the last one was conducted. Biden is the president, and he’s obviously not fit for the job. Putin sees that and he’s going to take advantage of the situation. The same is true for China’s Xi Jinping as he eyes Taiwan. There’s a reason these tyrants are making their moves now and not when Donald Trump was president. There’s a lesson there that a lot of Biden voters would do well to learn. That’s probably too much to ask, though.

(12-07-2021 10:59 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(12-07-2021 04:15 PM)CrimsonPhantom Wrote:  

I can't imagine Biden clearly laying out his underwear for tomorrow, so I find this highly suspect.

Putin: Good afternoon Mr. Biden, how are you today?
Biden: Breakfast was very good. I love warm oatmeal.

Putin: Let's get down to business, shall we. I understand you may have an issue with how we may be planning to handle the Ukrain?
Biden: Well yes, I am told that I have some concern. I was also told that you will rue any decision to take action in that province. Take that as a stern warning - YOU WILL RUE.

Putin: Ok then, talk to you in the spring. Doz-vedenye!

(12-08-2021 04:24 PM)Eldonabe Wrote:  

(12-07-2021 10:59 PM)Owl 69/70/75 Wrote:  

(12-07-2021 04:15 PM)CrimsonPhantom Wrote:  

I can't imagine Biden clearly laying out his underwear for tomorrow, so I find this highly suspect.

Putin: Good afternoon Mr. Biden, how are you today?
Biden: Breakfast was very good. I love warm oatmeal.

Putin: Let's get down to business, shall we. I understand you may have an issue with how we may be planning to handle the Ukrain?
Biden: Well yes, I am told that I have some concern. I was also told that you will rue any decision to take action in that province. Take that as a stern warning - YOU WILL RUE.

Putin: Ok then, talk to you in the spring. Doz-vedenye!

Biden: Have you ever heard of Satchel Paige?

The Result of Biden's Zoom Call With Putin Is in and It's Not Good

Quote:We saw some truly dismal numbers for Joe Biden — particularly when it comes to inflation — in the new ABC/Ipsos poll. Biden only had 28 percent approval and 69 percent disapproval in terms of how he was dealing with it — just killer numbers when the economy is generally the most important thing in the minds of Americans.

But there were poor numbers across the board, including on whether Americans trusted Biden to deal with Vladimir Putin. Did the Zoom call Biden had with Putin where Biden claimed that he sternly warned Putin help him in the eyes of the American people?

Not at all, and it’s not hard to understand why when he says things about making an “accommodation” with Putin. 55 percent disapprove of how Biden is handling relations with Russia. That’s another big disapproval number. Only 38 percent trust Biden in dealing with Putin, which is down from 49 percent in June.

So if the Zoom call didn’t impress the American people, did it ward off or impress Putin with the big consequences he would face from Biden if he continued to threaten Ukraine? Was he cowed by Joe’s words? Not if Putin’s actions are any indication. Putin added more troops on the border with Ukraine to the 175,000 he already had there, according to ABC’s Martha Raddatz.

“Russia’s ability at this point — and 175,000 troops, think of that,” Raddatz said. “When we went into Iraq, we were nowhere near 175,000 troops. But also remember back to 2014 and this point about Russian troops. There were reports that Putin set up mobile crematoriums because he was burning the bodies of those who were killed, so the Russians would not see caskets coming back.”

“He has to be thinking about that. But they could move in swiftly. Look, the administration and officials are telling me they are not faking it. Putin is not faking it, but that, on the other hand, he may be really good at not faking it. I mean, he is moving in those troops,” Raddatz continued. “After that call with President Biden, they added more troops. They added at least 10,000 more troops. So, if he’s bluffing, it’s a very, very good bluff.”

I guess that Putin wasn’t frightened by Biden’s wave and inability to get his microphone to work at the start of their Zoom call. What he should have said instead of talking about “accommodations” is: “You need to back off now.” Period, end of sentence. But it’s clear whatever he said to Putin didn’t do much. This is the problem with a weak leader in the chair. Unfortunately, everyone knows it, which makes this period in time very dangerous for the United States and our allies.

So what's the problem here? I must be missing something b/c I think JB is a moron.