Refusing to apologize to Russia for troop withdrawal in Afghanistan: Biden’s press conference also talked about these
According to a comprehensive report, on January 19, local time, US President Biden held a press conference to summarize his achievements one year after taking office. At this nearly 2-hour press conference, he responded to domestic and foreign hot issues such as the response to the new crown epidemic, inflation, the situation in Russia and Ukraine, and the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. “It’s been a challenging year, but also a year of great progress,” he said.
Outperforming expectations in response to the epidemic
In his first official news conference this year, Biden acknowledged that the new crown epidemic has left Americans tired and demoralized, but still said he has “performed” in his response to the outbreak. He also said Americans are battling a high cost of living, and he supports the Fed’s efforts to fight inflation.
Recently, the epidemic in the United States has rebounded sharply. The cumulative number of confirmed new crowns exceeds 65 million, and the cumulative number of deaths is nearly 900,000. The problem of “difficulty in testing” has occurred in many places. At the same time, under the influence of various factors during the epidemic, the prices of food, housing, and energy in the United States rose at different rates. In December last year, the inflation level hit the highest level in nearly 40 years.
Let’s talk about the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan
Biden has again defended it about five months after the hastily withdrawn U.S. troops from Afghanistan, blaming previous administrations. “After 20 years in Afghanistan, it is unlikely that we will withdraw troops from Afghanistan easily. I will not apologize for what I did,” he told a news conference. He also said, “There are all kinds of Problems, we can’t solve all problems. So I don’t think it’s a capacity issue.”
In August 2021, chaos continued during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. A series of explosions in Kabul killed dozens of Afghan civilians and 13 U.S. troops. The US media commented that the departure of the United States marked the exit of the longest war in the United States in an anxious, chaotic and bloody manner.
‘If Russia invades Ukraine, it will pay a heavy price’
At the press conference that day, Biden also warned that Russia will pay a heavy price for invading Ukraine, including serious casualties and economic damage.
“I think he’s going to invade, and he has to act,” Biden said at a news conference. However, he stressed that if Russia does invade Ukraine, U.S. allies and partners are ready to face Russia and its economy. At a heavy price, it would be “a disaster” for Russia.
Biden also expressed his willingness to hold talks with Putin. He believes there is still a “possibility” to resolve the impasse in Ukraine through talks.
Since November last year, the situation on the Ukrainian-Russian border has continued to be tense. Both the United States and Ukraine have claimed that Russia may be preparing to “invade” Ukraine. Russia has repeatedly denied this. Russia and the United States, NATO and other countries have conducted dialogues many times, but they have not achieved substantive results.
The US media noted that this press conference is an opportunity for Biden to focus outside attention on some of the highlights of his tenure. But the Biden administration is also facing the difficulty of the mid-term elections approaching and the declining approval rating.
Biden’s first year as president is coming to an end, with 41 percent of Americans approving of the way he works and 54 percent disapproving, according to the latest CNN poll. A joint poll by CBS and YouGov, a polling agency, shows that the popularity of the Biden administration has been on a downward trend.