June 18, 2021 | Research

Biden’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Foreign Trip

BIDEN’S FIRST FOREIGN TRIP WAS FULL OF EMBARRASSING MOMENTS

With the eyes of the world upon him – and our country – Biden did not impress or make much sense on his first foreign trip, but instead had a series of inept, embarrassing moments.
Biden:
- Confused Syria with Libya three times.
- Forgot how long he has been in office.
- Suffered a memory lapse that led him to being mocked by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in front of G7 leaders.
- Stood agonizingly tongue-tied at the podium when asked about Putin.
- Gave the impression he is beholden to his staff.
- Fidgeted with talking point flashcards while speaking to the media.
- Became disoriented and lost in his notes in the middle of a meeting.
- Lost his cool and snapped at a reporter.

BIDEN PROVED WHOLLY INEFFECTIVE AT SECURING AMERICA’S INTERESTS

Americans overwhelmingly wanted Biden to specifically address Russian cyberattacks against the United States, but his meeting with Putin brought no real change.
- Instead of standing up to Putin and demanding all cyberattacks on the U.S. stop, Biden weakly asked Putin not to attack a list of 16 sectors that Biden says should be "off limits."
Biden failed to secure the release of detained Americans Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed and failed to get Putin to agree to curtail his military aggression toward Ukraine.
During a press conference in Geneva, Biden was unable to articulate any real plan to pressure China on the origins of coronavirus.
- An April report from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence puts China as the number one national threat facing the U.S.

BIDEN LIMITED TRANSPARENCY AND AVOIDED TOUGH QUESTIONS

Despite presenting this trip as a defense of democracy, Biden refused to answer tough questions from the press corps.
In multiple press conferences, Biden only called on reporters from a pre-approved list.
He granted American press less access than previous administrations, forcing them in one instance to resort to updates from the Turkish government Twitter account.
In a breach of precedent, Biden did not give press access for his inspection of the Guard of Honor with the Queen at Windsor Castle.
Biden avoided tough questions.
- Asked if Putin is a “killer,” Biden laughed and said, “I don’t think it matters a whole lot.”
- At a time when Americans are paying on average over $3 per gallon, Biden did not address why Russian exports of oil to the U.S. are at an all-time high.
- Asked by a female reporter why he was confident Putin would change his behavior after their meeting, Biden snapped: “When did I say I was confident? If you don't understand that, you're in the wrong business."
Meanwhile, Biden has done fewer sit-down interviews with U.S. press in the last month than Putin has.

FOREIGN POLICY EXPERTS AGREE – BIDEN’S TRIP WAS A DISASTER

Former DIA Intelligence Officer Rebekah Koffler: “Allowing Putin to berate and discredit us in a solo press conference is quite a mistake for the Biden administration. To give them that ability, China comes out on top.”
Former Vice Chief of Staff for the Army, Retired Gen. Jack Keane: “Putin, I think, got more out of [the meeting] than he expected given the major concessions that were made prior to the summit, and that he was able to deny and deflect the major issues."
Former CIA Moscow Station Chief Daniel Hoffman: "Putin got what we wanted, which was a big summit before his parliamentary elections.”
AEI Director of Russian Studies Leon Aron: “[The Biden-Putin summit] represents a big, legitimizing, cost-free political win for Putin.”
Crisis Group’s Senior Russia Analyst, Oleg Ignatov: “This is exactly what the Kremlin wants. To talk to the US as equals and in such a way that the other side does not demand a change of position as a condition of dialogue.”