With 78-years-old Joe Biden’s Geneva summit with 68-year-old Vladimir Putin only days away, Biden’s handlers decided there should be no joint press conference following the meeting to let the world see both men perform side-by-side. After Biden called Putin a “soulless killer,” Putin urged Biden to join him in a global Internet press event that Biden completely ignored. Biden didn’t respond to Putin because he knows in public Putin can talk circles around the aging American president. Let there be no mistake, Biden’s handlers, especially his 70-year-old wife Jill and 75-year-old sister Valerie Biden Owens, limit Joe’s time in unscripted press events. Biden’s been prone toward gaffes in much of his political career but things have gotten worse as he’s aged. Biden’s reluctance to face the media in a joint press conference with Putin is all about his own insecurity.
Trying to blame avoiding a press conference on the press, Joe doesn’t admit he’s not confident with his own command of the issues, due to age-related cognitive decline. If Joe were in command of the facts, why would he not give his best shot at the issues? “I always found, and I don’t mean to suggest the press should not know, but his is not a contest about who can do better in from of a press conference or try to embarrass one another,” Joe admitted. Joe’s statement isn’t about whether joint press conferences are competitive, it’s about his insecurity in letting the world see the contrast with Putin. When it comes to who’s does better, it’s not Joe’s job to decide that for the public. Joe’s held plenty of joint press conferences with friendly allies, like 68-year-old South Korean President Moon Jae-in. Biden’s avoiding the joint press conference with Putin to spare himself embarrassment.
Democrats and the media accomplished their goal of getting rid of 74-year-old former President Donald Trump but instead of replacing him with someone in their prime, they elected a president that can’t hold his own with world leaders. “I think the best way to deal with this is for he and I to meet, he and I to have our discussion,” Biden said, expressing what happens in all one-on-one summits. “I know you don’t doubt that I’ll be very straightforward with him about our concerns and I will make clear my view of how that meeting turned out and he’ll make clear from his perspective how it turned out,” Biden said, trying to explain why no joint press conference. Unlike Trump, the media basically rubber stamps what Biden says, wanting to provide cover to him for his weaknesses, especially speaking off-the-cuff. Biden makes more excuses why he can’t meet with Putin jointly.
For weeks leading up to the summit, Blinken has been warning Putin that Biden won’t hesitate to call Russia out on what the U.S. sees as hostile actions. Biden and Blinken blame Putin for poisoning 44-year-old chief Russian dissident Alexi Navaly, now serving a two-and-a-half years sentence in a Russian penal colony. Biden and Blinken have called for Navalny’s release, prompting Russian officials to tell the U.S. to stop meddling in Russia’s internal affairs. Putin knows that Navalny runs a subversive organization designed to topple his government. Watching U.S. elected officials and the press throw their support to Navalny proves to Putin that they’d like to topple his government. Putin’s prepared to tell the world how the U.S. prosecutes Jan. 6 Capitol protesters. China told Blinken and Sullivan in Anchorage that the U.S. persecutes its African American citizens.
Biden and Blinken have painted themselves into a corner when it comes to the upcoming summit with Putin. They’ve presented the event as reading Putin the riot act about how Washington sees the Russian Federation. If Biden and Blinken confront Putin on Russian meddling in U.S. elections and democracy, Putin will not take the accusations seriously. Putin doesn’t profess to have any control over Russian cyber-criminals that have caused recent havoc to U.S. companies. Putin could concede that he’ll help expose and prosecute Russian cyber-criminals that interfere with U.S.-Russian relations. What Putin won’t do is accept Biden’s complaints without defending the Russian Federation. Talking about Navalny would be a non-starter at the summit, something met with stiff resistance by Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Both reject U.S. meddling in Russia’s internal affairs.
Biden’s made a lot of excuses why his handlers won’t accept a joint press conference following a Geneva summit with Putin. Biden said he doesn’t want to be embarrassed going toe-to-toe with Putin refuting accusations about Russian hacking or meddling in U.S. elections or democracy. “This is not going to be a flip the light switch moment,” said Blinken. “What the president is going to make clear to President Putin is we seek a more stable, predictable relationship with Russia,” Blinkern said. If that’s Biden’s goal, he needs to park the accusations at the door and listen to what Putin says about finding common ground, solving pressing world problems. Putin wants to join forces to deal with global climate change, especially in the Arctic where the permafrost is disappearing. Putin wants to find common ground, not bicker over Washington’s Russia-phobia and political issues.
