President Joe Biden spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, raising the prospect with the Russian leader of sanctions targeting the country if a military stand-off that Russia is cultivating with Ukraine continues to intensify. As a press release from the White House put it, Biden “voiced the deep concerns of the United States and our European Allies about Russia’s escalation of forces surrounding Ukraine and made clear that the U.S. and our Allies would respond with strong economic and other measures in the event of military escalation.”
It's still shocking to me, at this late date, how many people continue to publicly argue (let alone privately believe) that all of the horrifying things about Trump's presidency (and its continuing effects on our democracy) were worth it because of his three #SCOTUS appointments.
— Steve Vladeck (@steve_vladeck) December 7, 2021
This move stands in direct contrast to the stance that Donald Trump took during his time in office as president. At one point, Trump called for Russia to be brought back into the G7 group of world leaders — which had been and would become the G8 with Russia onboard, although the nation had been pushed out specifically because of its seizure of the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine, which Russia continues to claim as its own. On the call this week, Biden also “reiterated his support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and called for de-escalation and a return to diplomacy,” per that same press release. Check out the White House’s full statement on the call by clicking on the post below:
JUST IN: White House releases readout of Pres. Biden's call with Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin. https://t.co/BJrYoLTbwx pic.twitter.com/SNRbD6kCiA
— ABC News (@ABC) December 7, 2021
Throughout his time in power, Trump repeatedly capitulated to the interests of foreign dictators. For example, he declined to take any long-lasting step to hold Saudi leaders accountable for the state-backed murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and on other, prominent occasions, Trump dismissed concerns about Russian meddling in U.S. elections, no matter the clear evidence. Of course, Trump also acted like a wannabe dictator in his own right — no matter his claims of supposed (but in reality non-existent) widespread election fraud, the truth of what he sought to do after last year’s presidential election amounts to throwing out the documented will of the people. He wanted to use the powers of the federal government to stay in power, although Americans had chosen otherwise. Trump didn’t just bolster dictators around the world; he behaved like one.
Source close to Trump says he hates Meadows book and feels betrayed by him. Similar to @swin24 reporting this weekend/
— Maggie Haberman (@maggieNYT) December 7, 2021
