Mark Levin on Biden's 'not weak at all' Russia sanctions



In this clip, LevinTV host Mark Levin dissecs Joe Biden's 'not weak at all' response to Putin's war in Ukraine.

Mark explains that U.S. President Joe Biden's weakness in Afghanistan and his failure to raise military funds to cover the cost of inflation, among other things, led to the economic sanctions currently being implemented against Russia.

"His decisions have weakened this country," Mark says. Western governments say sanctions will create financial pressure on Russia, and will send a "strong signal." But sanctions are also said to have little effect on Russia's economy.

Watch the clip for more. Can't watch? Download the podcast here.

Biden's Flaccid Russia Sanctions


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SELF-SABOTAGE: How Putin Exploits Biden's INSANE Energy Policies

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Sec. of State Blinken says Putin wants to advance beyond Ukraine as White House is hit hard over 'failed' diplomatic strategy: 'Putin was playing Biden all along'



U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that Russia's military invasion of Ukraine is likely only part of Russian President Vladimir Putin's designs for the European continent.

Blinken made the remarks in an interview with CBS News managing editor Norah O'Donnell. When asked by O'Donnell if the U.S. had any specific intelligence indicating Putin will advance beyond Ukraine, the nation's top diplomat shrugged off the question, suggesting it's obvious.

"You don't need intelligence to tell you that that's exactly what President Putin wants," Blinken said. "He's made clear that he'd like to reconstitute the Soviet empire. Short of that, he'd like to reassert a sphere of influence around neighboring countries that were once part of the Soviet bloc. And short of that, he'd like to make sure that all of these countries are somehow neutral."

Blinken made it clear that any attack on a NATO member country would trigger a global response.

"Now, when it comes to a threat beyond Ukraine's borders, there's something very powerful standing in his way," Blinken noted. "That's Article 5 of NATO — an attack on one is an attack on all. It's exactly why we've been reinforcing NATO's eastern flank."

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on alarming developments in Ukraine www.youtube.com

It remains to be seen, however, what strength of response NATO countries, including the U.S., would offer. President Biden has thus far been tepid and diplomatic in his approach to Russia's aggression in Eastern Europe. Though it depends on who you ask. In a press conference Thursday, Biden responded to Russia's unprovoked military invasion by unleashing a slew of sanctions he said would be "devastating" — in "another month or so."

The U.S. has also been supplying weapons to the Ukrainian government, as well. But when pressed by reporters Thursday on whether more could be done — such as personally sanctioning Putin and removing Russia from SWIFT, an international banking cooperative, for starters — Biden demurred.

Politico reported Thursday that Putin was "playing Biden all along." Reuters, too, reported that Biden's negotiating returned zero results. Other voices, some notorious, chimed in with varying degrees of criticism.

Despite the president's tough rhetoric toward the would-be tyrant in the past, during meetings this year, Biden attempted to appeal to Putin's reason, pleading with him to "return to diplomacy" for the sake of Russia's "credibility worldwide," the Politico report stated.

With the launch of a full-scale invasion into Ukraine this week, Putin proved that Biden's reasoning and emotional appeals had little effect on him.

"Biden’s appeals to Putin’s geopolitical ego didn’t work," the report added. "For Biden and his team, it is a deeply frustrating moment. Their strategy toward Russia has largely failed."

Was part of Putin’s Ukraine speech a hidden message for Biden?

Was part of Putin’s Ukraine speech a hidden message for Biden?

Ukrainian officials 'stunned' by Biden's weak response on Russia: He just gave Putin the 'green light to enter Ukraine at his pleasure'



President Joe Biden raised alarm bells in Ukraine Wednesday after he appeared to downplay a potential "minor incursion" by Russia in the coming days or weeks, sowing doubts as to whether the U.S. and NATO allies will respond with force if Russia were to invade the neighboring country.

"I think what you're going to see is that Russia will be held accountable if it invades, and it depends on what it does, it's one thing if it's a minor incursion and we end up having to fight about what to do and not do, et cetera," Biden told reporters during a long, rambling East Room news conference.

"But if they actually do what they're capable of doing with the forces amassed on the border, it is going to be a disaster for Russia if they further invade Ukraine," he added, though his passive words didn't inspire confidence.

Later in the news conference, the president strangely predicted that Russian President Vladimir Putin "will move in" because "he has to do something."

Russia has amassed more than 100,000 troops on its border with Ukraine over the last several weeks but has repeatedly denied that it is planning to invade.

What was the reaction in Ukraine?

In response to Biden's remarks Wednesday, CNN senior intelligence correspondent Matthew Chance read directly from his prepared notes to relay that one Ukrainian official was "shocked that President Biden would give a green light to Vladimir Putin in this way."

That official reportedly added, “It gives the green light to Putin to enter Ukraine at his pleasure," Chance told network anchor Jake Tapper.

According to Chance, another Ukrainian official remarked that Kyiv, referring to Ukraine's government, "is stunned at what President Biden had to say."

CNN: \u201cOne Ukrainian official\u2026said that he was \u2018shocked that President Biden would give a green light to Vladimir Putin in this way.\u2019\u201d\n\n\u201cIt gives the green light to Putin to enter Ukraine at his pleasure.\u201dpic.twitter.com/tLkR92GgnK
— RNC Research (@RNC Research) 1642635063

What else?

The two anonymous officials were soon joined in their rebuke of Biden by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba.

In a tweet Thursday morning, Zelensky said, "We want to remind the great powers that there are no minor incursions and small nations. Just as there are no minor casualties and little grief from the loss of loved ones. I say this as the President of a great power."

We want to remind the great powers that there are no minor incursions and small nations. Just as there are no minor casualties and little grief from the loss of loved ones. I say this as the President of a great power
— \u0412\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0434\u0438\u043c\u0438\u0440 \u0417\u0435\u043b\u0435\u043d\u0441\u044c\u043a\u0438\u0439 (@\u0412\u043e\u043b\u043e\u0434\u0438\u043c\u0438\u0440 \u0417\u0435\u043b\u0435\u043d\u0441\u044c\u043a\u0438\u0439) 1642688959

USA Today called the statement a "remarkable retort from a close U.S. ally that has received millions of dollars in military assistance."

Kuleba similarly admonished Biden in an interview with the Wall Street Journal on Thursday, arguing that the president's half-hearted warning leaves open a window for Putin.

“Speaking of minor and full incursions or full invasion, you cannot be half-aggressive. You’re either aggressive or you’re not aggressive,” Kuleba said. “We should not give Putin the slightest chance to play with quasi-aggression or small incursion operations. This aggression was there since 2014. This is the fact.”

Anything else?

The White House quickly tried to clean up the mess in a subsequent clarification of Biden's remarks.

"If any Russian military forces move across the Ukrainian border, that's a renewed invasion, and it will be met with a swift, severe, and united response from the United States and our allies," White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement Wednesday evening.

Russia conducts major military exercises near Hawaii — largest since Cold War — ahead of Biden's meeting with Putin



In an obvious show of force, the Russian military conducted massive naval military exercises just a few hundred miles from Hawaii hours before President Joe Biden was scheduled to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The exercises — which Russian officials reportedly touted as the largest since the end of the Cold War — took place about 300 to 500 miles west of Hawaii and included surface ships, anti-submarine aircraft, and long-range bombers, CBS News reported.

News of the "irregular air patrol" reportedly sent U.S. defense officials into a frenzy, as they "scrambled" F-22s from Hawaii to respond to the Russian bomber flights.

The Russian bombers reportedly were not intercepted as they did not enter the Air Defense Identification Zone, but they came close.

Defense officials noted that a U.S. carrier strike group was also operating about 200 miles east of Hawaii. That exercise was planned beforehand but was moved closer to Hawaii in response to the Russian exercise.

U.S. Indo-Pacific Command spokesman Capt. Mike Kafka said in a statement that the U.S. military is "monitoring the Russian vessels operating in international waters in the Western Pacific."

"We operate in accordance with international law of the sea and in the air to ensure that all nations can do the same without fear or contest and in order to secure a free and open Indo-Pacific. As Russia operates within the region, it is expected to do so in accordance with international law," he added.

A short video of the exercise produced by Russia's ministry of defense was obtained the New York Post.

The exercises came directly alongside a highly anticipated meeting between Biden and Putin in Geneva, Switzerland, on Wednesday, in which both sides were hoping to "project strength" on the world stage, the Wall Street Journal reported.

While Biden may have been hoping to project strength through words, Putin was clearly hoping to project his country's strength through a showcase of military prowess.

"It's about making myself very clear what the conditions are to get a better relationship with Russia," Biden told reporters after the G7 summit in Cornwall, England, over the weekend. "We're not looking for conflict — we are looking to resolve those actions which we think are inconsistent with international norms."

Biden, despite previously characterizing Putin as "a killer," this week called him "bright," "tough," and a "worthy adversary."

When asked about the military exercises following the summit, Putin dismissed U.S. concerns, saying they have "no basis."

He claimed that Russia was not attempting "anything new" in the Arctic; rather, his country was "restoring the destroyed infrastructure" in the region.