It was a memorable press conference held by US President Joe Biden on the eve of his one-year anniversary. For many reasons, but one in particular: the survey by the capital’s press on Wednesday afternoon surprisingly turned into a marathon event – with unforeseen consequences.
Biden answered questions from 24 reporters and spoke for a total of around an hour and 50 minutes. It almost seemed as if the 79-year-old, who was derided as senile by the right-wing media, wanted to show the world how fit and resilient he really is.
The problem: Not only is Biden far from a gifted public speaker, he also tends to babble wildly when answering questions. An analysis of his appearance.
THE INITIAL SITUATION
A year after she was sworn in, Biden’s approval ratings are miserable. The pandemic is by no means over, and the polarization of the country has not diminished either, as Biden had promised.
Important political projects of the Democrats are stuck in Congress. And a seven percent rise in consumer prices is angering Americans, many of whom express disappointment at their government’s inadequate response to the problem.
So the White House tried in advance to sell the President’s first press conference in two and a half months as a kind of “reboot”. The expectations were comparatively high.
THE KEY NEWS
From an international perspective, Biden’s remarks on Ukraine were perhaps the most notable. And probably by far the most critical.
He said he expected at least a limited Russian attack on Ukraine. “My guess is that he’s going to go in,” Biden said of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intentions toward Ukraine.
But Putin will “test” the West and NATO as hard as he can. Biden spoke, among other things, of a possible “smaller incursion” by Russian forces into Ukraine.
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Biden also said he still doesn’t believe Putin wants a “real war.” However, an attack on Ukraine could get “out of control”.
At the same time, the US President warned that an invasion would lead to a “disaster for Russia”. Thus, even with a military victory in Ukraine, Russian troops would suffer “heavy” casualties.
In addition, the West will impose massive sanctions on Russia, said Biden. “Our allies and partners stand ready to impose heavy costs and significant damage on Russia and the Russian economy.”
When asked why Putin should be impressed by the threat of possible sanctions this time, Biden replied that the Russian president had never seen sanctions of the magnitude he threatened him with. Putin has a choice: further escalation or diplomacy.
A milder message to the Kremlin boss could be read from the sentence, however, that he does not believe that Ukraine will become a NATO member in the foreseeable future. Abandoning this is one of Putin’s key demands.
Biden also discussed another summit meeting with the Russian head of state. That is a “possibility”. Biden and Putin last met in person in Geneva last summer.
From a domestic political point of view, Biden’s comments on how to proceed with his central political projects made headlines. He assumes that “large parts” of his climate and social package will pass Congress before the midterm elections in the fall. In doing so, he hinted that his already heavily trimmed Build Back Better plan could be slimmed down further.
By November, for example, parts for the promotion of electromobility and for energy and climate protection could be decided, he said. The measures would have a volume of around 500 billion US dollars (440 billion euros).
This is intended to bring the two Democratic senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema on board, who find the spending of around $ 1.75 trillion to be far too extensive. Biden also said that Manchin supports an expansion of early childhood education.
The left wing of the party will not be happy about this. But Biden feels that one of his greatest strengths is being able to negotiate compromises. Apparently it doesn’t matter how much they hurt.
And then there was another statement with a view to 2024, which news agencies rushed to: When asked about this, Biden confirmed that he wanted to run again in the next presidential election together with his deputy Kamala Harris.
“I think she’s doing a good job,” he said of the vice president. The 79-year-old had already said he would run for a second term in 2024, provided he remained healthy.
Harris, 57, a former US Senator from California, is the first woman to hold the position and also the first black female vice president. Started with a lot of advance praise, she has recently faced increased criticism due to the lack of political success. In addition, various employees have looked for new tasks – in gossip-loving Washington, this is always a clear indication that something is not going smoothly there.
THE BIGGEST PROMISES
Forty-five minutes after the press conference ended, the White House issued a press release intended to clarify Biden’s comments on Ukraine. The President had spoken of a possible “small-scale invasion” of Russia and seemed to imply that the sanctions threatened could depend on the extent of a potential Russian invasion.
“It’s one thing when it’s a minor intrusion,” Biden said. “But if they actually do what they are able to do with the forces gathered at the border, it will be catastrophic for Russia.”
The US broadcaster CNN quoted an unnamed Ukrainian government official as saying he was “shocked that the US President differentiates between intrusion and invasion”. This gives Putin “the green light to invade Ukraine at will”. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said he was “stunned” by Biden’s comments.
In the White House statement, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said: “President Biden has made it clear to the Russian President: If Russian forces move across the Ukrainian border, that is a re-invasion, and the United States will follow.” and our allies respond swiftly, forcefully, and as one.”
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The US President knows, however, that Russia has “an extensive range of instruments for aggression” below the threshold of military action – for example cyber attacks and paramilitary tactics. Biden has reiterated that even such aggression by Russians “will be met with a resolute, mutual, and collective response.”
There was also sharp criticism of Biden’s comments on the legitimacy of future elections. The President has expressed reservations about whether the November midterm elections could be fair and legitimate without the electoral reforms he supports.
Biden explained that it all depends on being able to argue in front of the American public that there is some manipulation going on to change the outcome of the election. A little later he explained that these midterms could be “slightly illegitimate”.
The president, of all people, whose election victory his predecessor doubted, now in turn raised doubts about the American electoral system.
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The reactions were not long in coming here either – and not only in right-wing stations like Fox News. Senator Manchin told CNN he and Biden had “small differences” on the issue. Senator Ben Cardin said he probably wouldn’t have used those words.
Republican Senator Ben Sasse, known as a Trump critic, even compared the two presidents. “When you’re the President… you build public confidence in our elections. Sadly, the incumbent and, on several occasions, the former president are ambiguous. These politically narcissistic, insecure men really do a tremendous amount of damage to public trust.”
The comparison is dishonest given Trump’s outrageous “Big Lie” campaign. But even being mentioned in the same breath with this should hit Biden sensitively.
THE DEEPEST INSIGHTS
Biden’s appearance, at least that can be said, was refreshingly honest in many places. It doesn’t even need to be compared to its predecessor.
Right at the beginning of the press conference and after initial praise for the government’s actions, the President said yes, testing should have started earlier during the pandemic. You don’t hear self-criticism very often at this point in the White House.
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In fact, there were no tests nationwide when the Omicron variant catapulted the pandemic into a new crisis phase in December. That would have been avoidable.
Biden also named three points that he wants to do differently in the future: he will leave Washington more often, he will bring in more expert advice from outside and he will be more involved in the upcoming elections for his party.
The president earned a laugh when, when asked by a Fox News reporter why he was moving the country so far to the left, he explained that he wasn’t doing that at all and clearly distancing himself from those within his party who described themselves as designate socialists. “I like him. But I’m not Bernie Sanders.”
More or less skillfully, he dodged the question about his poor popularity ratings: “I don’t believe in polls,” he said, turning to the next questioner. Again, you don’t have to believe that.
THE MOST CRITICAL REACTIONS
It was to be expected that right-wing broadcasters would tear the democratic president apart after the press conference. But also in other news channels there was much more criticism than praise.
It was probably not the announced restart, according to the Biden broadcaster CNN. The White House now has some clean-up work to do. And it was a mistake to extend the PK so extremely. Biden may also agree to this.
