President Biden Calls for Resistance from Trump and Republicans Over Ukraine and Russia
CNN – President Joe Biden has intensified his rhetoric as he calls for opposition from former President Donald Trump and Republicans over Ukraine and Russia. This tactic, notably employed at off-camera fundraisers and public events, has been accentuated in recent days as the president criticizes the refusal of House Republicans to approve additional aid for Ukraine and Donald Trump’s silence on Russia’s responsibility for the death of Alexey Navalny, Vladimir Putin’s main critic.
Biden has engaged in this strategy particularly in California this week, being more candid in his language and speaking more freely at fundraisers. At a fundraiser in San Francisco, Biden referred to Putin as a “crazy HDP” and expressed his bewilderment at Trump’s comments about Navalny.
The president has instructed his campaign team to more aggressively denounce Trump’s actions, aiming to put his incendiary rhetoric front and center as the 2024 race heats up. By repeatedly attacking Trump and his party from the White House and at fundraising events, Biden hopes to illustrate what is at stake in the upcoming election and demonstrate his efforts to unite the West against Russian aggression.
Notably, Biden has criticized House Republicans for refusing to pass a bipartisan border security bill and additional aid for Ukraine, both at Trump’s behest. The president warned donors at a private fundraiser in Los Angeles on Tuesday, “Look what they’re doing with the supplemental national security bill. Why? Because that’s what Donald Trump tells them to do.”
He also criticized current GOP lawmakers, stating that they were “worse” than Strom Thurmond, a former Democratic senator turned Republican with staunch segregationist views. Biden expressed his frustration that Republicans “demonstrate that they are the party of chaos and the party of division.”
In response to Biden’s comments, House Speaker Mike Johnson called the president’s remarks “outrageous” and accusing him of “playing the race card from the bottom of the deck.” Meanwhile, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby warned about the “deepening” of military ties between Russia and Iran, which are aiding the war against Ukraine.
Biden has publicly expressed his outrage at Trump’s comments about Putin and NATO, calling the former president’s remarks “horrifying.” The president has repeatedly warned about the dire consequences for Ukrainian soldiers without more ammunition and aid, squarely blaming congressional inaction for Ukraine’s military withdrawal from the key city of Avdiivka.
As Biden pressures resistant Republicans, it remains unclear whether they will be swayed or whether voters will take the foreign policy debate into account in the upcoming election. However, the president’s team believes the Russia issue provides a clear contrast between the two men and serves as a reminder of the kind of president Trump would be if re-elected.
The Biden campaign has debuted a new digital ad attacking Trump’s NATO comment, targeting voters in battleground states and aiming to reach various ethnic groups bordering Russia. This strategy comes at a time when polls show American support for keeping NATO intact and sending more aid to Ukraine.
Ultimately, Biden is employing aggressive rhetoric in order to highlight the differences between his approach to foreign policy and that of Trump, as he seeks to rally support for his administration’s actions against Russian aggression and in support of Ukraine.