From the NY Post report of the event:
Putin reframed accusations of harboring cybercriminals with the dubious claim that the US is more responsible than Russia for hacking... “I’m talking about something that’s already well known, but not known to the broader public, not from American sources, I’m afraid,” Putin said through a translator....
The Russian leader changed the topic when a journalist asked about his government imprisoning opposition leader Alexei Navalny, pointing to the prosecution of more than 400 supporters of former President Donald Trump for allegedly storming the Capitol on Jan. 6 to disrupt Biden’s victory. “People came to the US Congress … they face prison sentences, up to 20, maybe the 25 years — they’re being called domestic terrorists,” Putin said....
He also cited alleged US “torture” of detainees at Guantanamo Bay and at secret CIA prisons established in Europe after 9/11 and the Black Lives Matter movement as evidence of American violations of human rights. The US “recently had very severe events … after the killing of an African American and an entire movement developed known as Black Lives Matter,” he said.
Posts
11 comments:
Jake writes: "In addition to the bumbling Biden clips that have emanated daily from overseas ever since Biden got there, this Putin press conference demonstrates how Biden is so clearly overmatched. Sad."
MikeR makes a good point: "He should have put out an empty seat..."
Yeah, and talked to it.
Ozymandias says: "One of the consequences of electing a Not-Ready-for Prime-Time President. Biden’s “worth adversary” is too worthy to be faced."
Cubanbob says:
The Russian leader changed the topic when a journalist asked about his government imprisoning opposition leader Alexei Navalny, pointing to the prosecution of more than 400 supporters of former President Donald Trump for allegedly storming the Capitol on Jan. 6 to disrupt Biden’s victory. “People came to the US Congress … they face prison sentences, up to 20, maybe the 25 years — they’re being called domestic terrorists,” Putin said....
Unfortunately Putin has a point albeit from a purely cynical and sanctimonious place. It's embarrassing that Putin can so easily mock the US.
Thanks, Democrats.
Skeptical Voter writes:
A tennis playing friend of mine had his matches cancelled for the day. So he went home and watched the Putin and Biden press conferences. I gather they were separate. Putin may be a polished prevaricator, but his press conference lasted for 55 minutes and he answered 24 different questioners. Biden’s press conference not so much. It lasted 11 minutes and he read “answers” to seven scripted “questions”.
Tennis playing friend said, “Game, Set, and Match to Putin”.
But wait, there’s more. Supposedly Biden “went off” on a female CNN reporter who asked him an unscripted question after the press conference. He yelled at her “WTH”—don’t know whether the full three words or just three letters, and suggested that if she didn’t know any better she shouldn’t be in the business. Granpa Geezer missed his nap, warm milk and cookies this afternoon.
You can watch the Biden press conference here.
I thought he sounded fine. And that was after a 4 hour meeting. So the idea that he's just falling apart mentally is shot to hell.
Amadeus 48 writes:
In your link, Lester Holt managed to talk right over Kaitlin Collins of CNN (!) getting the “maybe you are in the wrong business” treatment from Biden after she asked why he was “so confident” that Putin will “change his behavior.” Another day at the office with Blowhard Biden.
My argument isn’t that Biden is senile (although I think he is losing it), my argument is that he empty and stupid and covers it up with backslapping and bluster. But we’ll see how well he wears.
I am also curious about those delays before post-meeting press conferences. He was at least 120 minutes late yesterday after he met with Erdogan, and he was a half hour late today after Putin had held the stage for 55 minutes. Does he take a nap? Does he get a jolt of some stimulant? Shades of JFK! It’s a good thing he doesn’t have to take a drug test.
Apparently the press is starting to get restive regarding the quality of these press conferences. The Daily Wire has a nice summary.
Biden Erupts At Reporter For Asking About Putin: ‘Where The Hell, What Do You Do All The Time?’
Seems like something Trump would do.
Yancey Ward writes:
Ms. Althouse you wrote:
"I thought he sounded fine. And that was after a 4 hour meeting. So the idea that he's just falling apart mentally is shot to hell."
You miss the point completely- he only sounds coherent when the questions he is asked are pre-approved and the answers written down for him. You really need to ask yourself this question about today's event- why did they refuse a joint press conference? The answer is pretty obvious to me- Putin wouldn't have agreed to put on a written and rehearsed script. Do yourself a favor- watch both press conferences. Do you not see the difference?
He didn't seem to be looking down at notes, though. Maybe it was pretty scripted, but if so, he did a good job of remembering the script and speaking in a normal way. I don't present that as a high standard, just as a refutation of the idea that he's in dementia.
Amadeus 48 writes:
"Seems like something Trump would do."
Exactly. It doesn't seem like something that Obama or either Bush would do, does it? Obama would create a strawman (usually a caricature of Republican taking a position that no one was really taking) and then criticize it. The beauty of Biden, notwithstanding all his years of failure, was supposed to be a return to normal. Instead, we are getting only glimpses of Biden. He never is allowed to be challenged by the press, and when he is, he doesn't react well. Olivia Nuzzi of New York Magazine: "The most powerful person in the world doesn’t need to be cocooned from criticism." Jeff Zeleny of CNN: “I have never seen a president—covering the last four of them—who is so protected by his aides in terms of often not wanting him to answer some questions." Ashley Parker of WaPo: “Biden is abroad doing a big push on democracy v. autocracy. BUT the U.S. press — a key part of any functioning democracy — has gotten less access than under previous administrations and is now forced to resort to updates from…the Turkish government Twitter account.”
This shouldn't be normal, should it? And it is not about Trump--he is gone. This is about Biden hiding from the spotlight.
Hyphenated American writes:
Let’s not forget that the dnc-media complex excuses against having a joint presidential press-conference with Putin are clearly false..
1. American presidents in the past loved to have joint conferences with Russian leaders, because it was a great opportunity to get through the Russian media wall which was isolating the Russians from hearing an American point of view. It was a way to appeal directly to the Russian people above the heads of the Russian government.
2. Biden refused to have a joint press conference with Boris Johnson, a British prime minister. Why? Does Biden also consider Great Britain an enemy of the USA?
In reality, the reasons for Biden’s refusal to have joint press-conferences are obvious. In a joint press conference, Biden and his handlers can no longer control the duration of the press conference, nor the reporters who are allowed to question the president. Imagine if Putin decided to keep on the press conference for an hour and a half, could Biden physically handle it? What if Putin called on a reporter not approved by the Biden team? The reasons are quite obvious, right? It also explains why Biden refused to have a joint press conference with Boris Johnson.
Post a Comment