When it comes to statements from President Joe Biden, a reverse course may just as well be considered par for the course, and his latest correction only served to cast further doubts on the administration’s ability to lead.
The position of the United States government is perceived as critical across the globe in driving policy and deterring aggression. So, since Russian President Vladimir Putin initiated the invasion of Ukraine in February, political analysts have routinely shuddered at the gaffes from Biden that could have, and may yet, lead to catastrophe.
Now, after Biden stated Monday that, “We’re not going to send to Ukraine rocket systems that strike into Russia,” The New York Times released an op-ed by the president Tuesday to clarify that what he said does not mean what you think it means.
“As President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has said, ultimately this war ‘will only definitively end through diplomacy.’ Every negotiation reflects the facts on the ground,” Biden’s article read. “We have moved quickly to send Ukraine a significant amount of weaponry and ammunition so it can fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table.”
In what is being considered a reversal even by the Democrat-friendly corporate media, the op-ed read, “That’s why I’ve decided that we will provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine.”
Some of us want to increase arms to Ukraine as a means to hasten a diplomatic solution. Not arming Ukraine prolongs the war. https://t.co/qS4PnuEBvP
— Michael McFaul (@McFaul) May 29, 2022
Biden had been criticized for the weaker stance portrayed in his remarks to reporters Monday and even the United States Ambassador to Russia during President Barack Obama’s second term had a negative view of the matter, writing on Twitter, “Some of us want to increase arms to Ukraine as a means to hasten a diplomatic solution. Not arming Ukraine prolongs the war.”
More telling than the reversal itself appears to be in the delivery of the message. Earlier Tuesday, it was reported that Biden was unhappy with the White House communications team because their issuance of corrections was undermining his authority as president.
Biden reportedly frustrated with WH comms team for undermining his authority, clarifying his comments https://t.co/5gBwlyVTVR pic.twitter.com/jVxjnB4mJH
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) May 31, 2022
“He makes a clear and succinct statement – only to have aides rush to explain that he actually meant something else. The so-called clean-up campaign, he has told advisers, undermines him and smothers the authenticity that fueled his rise. Worse, it feeds a Republican talking point that he’s not fully in command,” NBC News reported.
The submission of an op-ed attributed to the president appears to be an attempt at a workaround to that perception. However, while it is unlikely that Biden authored the op-ed himself, others noted that the president wasn’t doing the American people any favors with his choice of delivery for his message on commitment to the people of Ukraine where he wrote, “Americans will stay the course with the Ukrainian people because we understand that freedom is not free…Vladimir Putin did not expect this degree of unity or the strength of our response. He was mistaken. If he expects that we will waver or fracture in the months to come, he is equally mistaken.”
Why on earth are you putting a presidential statement behind a paywall?
This is a matter of public interest. Make it freely accessible to anyone regardless of their page views on your website.
— Alexander Lanoszka (@ALanoszka) June 1, 2022
Subscribe to @JoeBiden’s Patreon for Exclusive Presidential Content. pic.twitter.com/yM6iojzAhx
— Vogliamo Tutto ☭ (@vogliamo_tutto) June 1, 2022
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Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Northeast PA with his fiancé and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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