ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, who after interviewing Russian President Putin, described the leader as a “killer,” jad later asked on air if Pres. Biden agrees. As the latter answered in the affirmative, Russian President Vladimir Putin shot back by saying that “It takes one to know one.”.
A short while after Biden’s comment was aired on national television, the Russian government immediately gave orders to the Russian ambassador in Washington, DC to return home; whilst citing that President Biden’s view of Putin as a killer, created irreparable spoliation of any diplomatic ties between the U.S. and Russia.
Pres. Biden was unperturbed by the action as he also said the Russian leader will “pay a price” for meddling in the recent US presidential election. Apparently, the US president’s threat was in response to intelligence reports on how Russia attempted to boost former President Donald Trump’s reelection bid by further sowing divisiveness among Americans.
Pres. Biden revealed that during the long talk via a phone conversation he had with the Russian president last January 26, he had already warned Putin, presumably in relation to the interference.
White House Press Secretary Stood By Biden’s Putin Remarks
When a reporter asked White House Press Secretary Jan Psaki if Biden regretted his comment about Putin, she answered that the President had merely responded with a direct answer to a direct question. Moreover, Psaki stated that the current administration will be taking a different method in handling the country’s relationship with Russia by being straightforward and direct in addressing concerns.
The White House Press Secretary made it clear that the Biden administration will not use the same approach used by the previous administration, which obviously referred to Trump’s seeming affinity to the Russian President in light of his Trump Organization’s business deals in Russia.