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The US president has revealed that he is convinced Russia is going to invade Ukraine, but says a limited incursion would spark a debate about the consequences. «Do I think he will test the West, the US and NATO, as much as he can? YesI think he will,” Joe Biden said of Vladimir Putin at a White House press conference. “But I think he will pay a high price for it, something that he is not aware of now, and I think he will regret it,” he added.
Biden has warned that if the Kremlin mobilizes the Russian forces accumulated on the border in Ukraine, “it will be a disaster for Russia, since our allies and partners are ready to impose severe sanctions and significant punishments that will do great harm to Russia and the economy. Russian».
Biden has also admitted that “a minor incursion will provoke a debate about what to do.” In 2014, Russia invaded Ukraine and annexed the Crimean peninsula. Since then it has supported separatists in the east of the country. In recent months he has amassed tens of thousands of soldiers on the border.
Biden took stock of his first year on Wednesday, just as his popularity has plummeted in the polls, and after the Supreme Court has invalidated his order that big business workers get vaccinated, and his own party has been unable to pass his big package of social and environmental spending and a reform of the electoral system.
The president affirmed that his greatest failures are the result of the obstructionism of the opposition and denied having leaned to the left. “I am not a socialist,” he said. He also denied that he has lost trust with his “number two,” Vice President Kamala Harris. Asked if she has done a good job overseeing the failed reform of the electoral system and if will choose her again as a companion in a candidacy in 2024, he did not even think about it. “Yes and yes,” he said bluntly. «She will be a candidate with me, number one. And number two, I put her in charge [de la reforma electoral] And I think he’s doing a good job.”
Asked if he exceeded his promises — to eradicate the pandemic, improve the economy, strengthen democracy, restore consensus — Biden answered in the negative. “I didn’t promise too much, but I think if you look at what we’ve been able to do, you’ll have to acknowledge that we’ve made tremendous progress. But one of the things that I think I haven’t been able to do so far is get my Republican friends on board with this campaign to make things better in this country.”
Even so, the president had to face his own contradictions. Above all, Biden admitted that he has not called many Republicans to ask them to join his reform of the electoral system, designed to ensure that minority groups can freely exercise their right. The reason is that that reform failed because it does not have enough Democratic support. “Before I was trying to make sure that everyone in my party was on the same page on this aspect. And it’s true that I didn’t call many Republicans,” the president said.
While the president was speaking, Democratic Senator Joe Manchin gave a speech in the Senate in which he refused to facilitate the approval process of that electoral reform. The Senate rules contemplate that in order to pass a law, 60 votes out of 100 are generally needed. That is to say, Republicans and Democrats must normally negotiate, something that facilitates consensus and bipartisanship. On rare occasions, especially on budget issues, a law can be passed in the Senate with a simple majority of 51 votes. Those rules can be changed, and Biden asked his party to do so. Manchin refused, further counterprogramming Biden, stating that “such rule changes must be made by majority bipartisan agreement.”
Biden admitted that he has great challenges ahead, especially the pandemic, with a million new infections daily, and inflation, which reaches 7% year-on-year. “Inflation has a lot to do with the supply chain, and I think that we have been able to make progress in accelerating access to these materials,” said the president. Specifically, Biden highlighted the rising cost of cars as a key driver of inflation and said the lack of microchips is a major factor in skyrocketing prices.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism