En route to Atlanta, where he intended to hype his new crusade against anti-Asian violence as rival drug cartels engage in gun fights at the US border, President Joe Biden literally stumbled up the steps to Air Force One three times.
But amid his increasingly bizarre war of insults and threats with Russian president Vladimir Putin, that was the least of America’s concerns.
Putin just challenged Joe Biden to an unscripted live debate.
The whole world knows that we have no leadership at the top just an empty suit with a teleprompter (and he can’t even get that right).
They look at America’s weakness right now and are salivating.
— Donald Trump Jr. (@DonaldJTrumpJr) March 18, 2021
The 78-year-old Biden’s rapid mental and physical decline come as no surprise after a campaign in which he regularly belittled minorities and referred to Trump supporters as “chumps.”
However, he may have bitten off more than he could chew by engaging in a war of wits with his Kremlin counterpart.
A little-believed intelligence report this week resurrected Democrats’ longstanding Russia canard while absolving the Biden-backing China of any interference in the highly disputed 2020 election.
Biden raised the rhetorical stakes during a Wednesday morning interview with George Stephanopoulos by threatening that Putin would “pay a price” and referring to him as a “killer,” according to the Daily Mail.
“The price he’s going to pay, well, you’ll see shortly,” Biden said.
The exchange began with Biden saying he had told Putin to his face previously that he “didn’t have a soul” in response to a question from Stephanopoulos.
“I did say that to him, yes,” Biden replied, saying the two men were alone in Putin’s office at the time.
“It was when President Bush said he looked in his [Putin’s] eyes and saw his soul,” Biden continued. “I said, ‘I looked in your eyes and I don’t think you have a soul.’ He looked back and said, ‘We understand each other.'”
Putin initially appeared to offer a gracious response to Biden’s tough talk.
“I would say to him: I wish you good health. I say that without irony and not as a joke,” said the Russian president.
However, after Russia demanded an apology for the recent insult, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki doubled down by refusing to grant one.
“We are confident that we can continue to look for ways where there’s a mutual interest—mutual national interest,” Psaki said, apparently clarifying that she was not referring to Biden’s family private business interests.
“But the president is not going to hold back, clearly, when he has concerns … whether it is with words or actions,” she added.
Putin seemed to be a little less civil in his reaction as the spat escalated on Thursday, challenging Biden to a public debate as soon as possible, according to Trending Politics.
“I want to propose to President Biden to continue our discussion, but on the condition that we do it basically live, as it’s called,” he said.
“Without any delays and directly in an open, direct discussion,” he continued. “It seems to me that would be interesting for the people of Russia and for the people of the United States.”
He said he had already booked some weekend R&R but would be willing to do it as early as next week.
“I don’t want to put this off for long,” he said.
“I want to go to the taiga this weekend to relax a little. So we could do it tomorrow or Monday,” he added. “We are ready at any time convenient for the American side.”
After hearing of the offer, Psaki demurred, saying that Biden was “quite busy” and that after having already spoken with him once, he was low on the list of priorities.
“I would say that the president already had a conversation already with President Putin even as there are more world leaders that he has not yet engaged with,” she said.
Putin also appeared to taunt the unhinged American leader, who once lamented that he and former president Donald Trump were not in high school so that he “could take him behind the gym” and “beat the hell out of him.”
The former KGB strongman invoked his own formative years, using a phrase popularized by entertainer Pee Wee Herman to suggest that Biden be wise not to cast the first stone.
“You know, I remember, in childhood, when we were arguing with each other in the courtyard, we would say, ‘I know you are, but what am I?’ and that’s no accident,” Putin mused.
“It’s not just a childish saying,” he added. “There is a very deep meaning in that.”
But Herman himself—also known as Paul Reubens—stepped into the fray with a Facebook post, appearing to come out on the side of Biden.
