HE OCCASIONAL AND UNOFFICIALLY
ADVISES PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN.
>> GREAT TO HAVE YOU ALL ONBOARD
THIS MORNING.
PRESIDENT BIDEN IS BACK AT THE
WHITE HOUSE THIS MORNING, HAVING
WRAPPED UP HIS FIRST OVERSEAS
TRIP AS COMMANDER IN CHIEF.
THE EIGHT-DAY TOUR CULMINATED
WITH A FACE-TO-FACE TALK WITH
PRESIDENT PUTIN.
IT IS CLEAR, HOWEVER, THAT
DIVISIONS REMAIN ON ISSUES SUCH
AS HUMAN RIGHTS AND CYBER
WARFARE.
RUSSIA DENIED RECENT ATTACKS ON
THE UNITED STATES AND INSTEAD
ACCUSED THE U.S. OF BEING THE
LARGEST CYBER AGGRESSOR.
THE ISSUE OF TRUST ALSO CAME UP,
WHEN PUTIN WAS ASKED IF HE
TRUSTED JOE BIDEN, HE SAID THERE
WAS SOME, QUOTE, SOME SPECTER OF
TRUST. HERES HOW BIDEN ANSWERED THAT
HERES HOW BIDEN ANSWERED THAT
QUESTION.
>> THIS IS NOT ABOUT TRUST.
THIS IS ABOUT SELF-INTEREST AND
VERIFICATION OF SELF-INTEREST.
THATS WHAT ITS ABOUT.
SO VIRTUALLY, ALMOST ANYONE THAT
I WOULD WORK OUT AN AGREEMENT
WITH THAT AFFECTED THE AMERICAN
PEOPLES INTEREST, I DONT SAY,
I TRUST YOU, NO PROBLEM.
LETS SEE WHAT HAPPENS.
THIS IS ABOUT HOW WE MOVE FROM
HERE.
I LISTEN TO A SIGNIFICANT
PORTION OF WHAT PRESIDENT
PUTINS PRESS CONFERENCE WAS.
AS HE POINTED OUT, THIS IS ABOUT
PRACTICAL, STRAIGHTFORWARD, NO
NONSENSE DECISIONS THAT WE HAVE
TO MAKE OR NOT MAKE.
WELL FIND OUT WITHIN THE NEXT
SIX MONTHS TO A YEAR WHETHER OR
NOT WE ACTUALLY HAVE A STRATEGIC
DIALOGUE THAT MATTERS.
FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN I TALKED ABOUT
THE PIPELINE THAT CYBER HIT
FOR -- THAT RANSOMWARE HIT IN
THE UNITED STATES, HOW WOULD YOU
FEEL IF RANSOMWARE TOOK ON THE
PIPELINES FROM YOUR OIL FIELDS.
HE SAID, IT WOULD MATTER.
I MADE IT CLEAR THAT WE WILL NOT
TOLERATE ATTEMPTS TO VIOLATE OUR
DEMOCRATIC SOVEREIGNTY OR STABLE
IDES OUR DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS
AND WE WOULD RESPOND.
THE BOTTOM LINE IS, WE TOLD
PRESIDENT PUTIN THAT WE NEED TO
HAVE SOME BASIC RULES OF THE
ROAD THAT WE CAN ALL ABIDE BY.
LETS ALSO SAY, THERE ARE AREAS
WHERE THERES A MUTUAL INTEREST
FOR US TO COOPERATE.
RUSSIAN AND AMERICAN PEOPLE, BUT
ALSO FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE
WORLD AND THE SECURITY OF THE
WORLD.
I ALSO TOLD THEM THAT NO
PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES
COULD KEEP FAITH WITH THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE IF THEY DID NOT
SPEAK OUT TO DEFEND OUR
DEMOCRATIC VALUES, TO STAND UP
FOR THE UNIVERSAL AND
FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS THAT ALL
MEN AND WOMEN HAVE IN OUR VIEW.
THATS JUST PART OF THE DNA OF
OUR COUNTRY.
HOW COULD I BE THE PRESIDENT OF
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND
NOT SPEAK OUT AGAINST THE
VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS.
>> SO JONATHAN, INSTEAD OF JUST
LOOKING AT YESTERDAY, LETS LOOK
AT WHAT HAPPENED OVER THE PAST
WEEK.
FIRST OF ALL, THE SPECIAL
RELATIONSHIP, THEY HAD THE
MEETING EARLY ON, THEN G-7, THEN
NATO, AND THEN THE PUTIN SUMMIT.
HOW WAS THE WHITE HOUSE FEELING
ABOUT WHAT THEYVE ACCOMPLISHED
THIS PAST WEEK?
>> THEY FEEL IT WAS A SUCCESS.
AIDES IVE TALKED TO OVER THE
LAST WEEK OR SO, OVERSEAS ON
VARIOUS FLIGHTS AND AIR FORCE
ONE, DO FEEL GOOD ABOUT WHERE WE
WERE.
IT WAS AS MUCH ABOUT MESSAGING
AS IT WAS ABOUT ANY SORT OF
DELIVERABLE.
THEY WANTED TO SEND THE SIGNAL
THAT THE U.S. WAS ONCE AGAIN A
DEPENDABLE ALLY WHO COULD BE
TRUSTED BY ITS EUROPEAN PARTNERS
AND DEMOCRACIES OF THE WORLD.
THAT WAS THE THING WE HEARD IN
THE G-7, HIS MEETINGS WITH BORIS
JOHNSON, NATO, AND CULMINATING
YESTERDAY WITH THIS SUMMIT WITH
VLADIMIR PUTIN.
THEY WANTED TO ESTABLISH FIRST
THAT, HEY, WE HAVE THESE
ALLIANCES AGAIN.
WE MAY NOT AGREE ON EVERYTHING,
BUT THEY WANTED TO BE A UNIFIED
FRONT GOING INTO THAT PUTIN
MEETING.
>> SO LETS ADD COLOR.
BIDEN, WHAT KIND OF MOOD WAS HE
IN?
A GOOD MOOD AT THE END OF THE
SUMMIT, AT THE END OF THE WEEK?
>> HE DID.
HE DID.
ITS A GRIND.
ALL OF THESE OVERSEAS TRIPS ARE
HARD.
REPORTERS, WERE FEEL IT BY THE
END OF IT.
THERE WERE MOMENTS WHERE THE
PRESIDENT LOOKED A LITTLE TIRED.
HES 70 YEARS OLD.
BUT HE DID LOOK GOOD.
HE WAS GOOD YESTERDAY WITH
PUTIN, HE WAS IN COMMAND.
HE ADMITTED HE LOST HIS TEMPER
BRIEFLY AT ONE POINT, WHICH HE
APOLOGIZED FOR.
BUT THEY FEEL LIKE HES GOD AND
WELCOMED BACK BY HIS EUROPEAN
ALLIES WHO WERE SO RELIEVED HE
WASNT HIS PREDECESSOR.
>> AND IT WAS EXECUTED REALLY
WELL.
>> JOHN, JOE BIDEN, THE BIDEN
ADMINISTRATION HAS COME UNDER
CRITICISM FOR EVEN MEETING WITH
VLADIMIR PUTIN.
AND OF COURSE, THATS JUST --
THAT HAPPENS.
WHATEVER A PRESIDENT IS GOING TO
DO, THEYRE GOING TO BE
QUESTIONED ON WHETHER THEYRE
MAKING THE RIGHT MOVE OR NOT.
IVE JUST GOT TO SAY, IF IM
LOOKING AT EVERYTHING THAT
HAPPENED, STARTING WITH A
SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP,
CONTRASTING THAT WILL DONALD
TRUMP REGULARLY ASSAULTING
THERESA MAY, GOING ON TO THE
G-7, CONTRASTING THAT WITH
DONALD TRUMP, CONSTANTLY BEING
AN IRRITANT, ASKING WHERE VLAD
IS, WHY ISNT THIS A G-8, WHY
ARENT WE INVITING THE RUSSIANS?
AND INSTEAD THE G-7 CAN FOCUS ON
HOW THEY WERE GOING TO PUSH BACK
ON RUSSIAN AGGRESSION.
YOU GO TO NATO, INSTEAD OF
DONALD TRUMP PUSHING PEOPLE OUT
OF THE WAY TO GET TO THE FRONT,
AGAIN, IT WAS MORE OF A
COLLECTIVE EFFORT BETWEEN ALL OF
THE NATO PARTNERS, AS IT HAS
BEEN TRADITIONALLY, AND THEN, OF
COURSE, THE MEETING WITH RUSSIA.
IVE BEEN GOING BACK THROUGH MY
MIND, MAYBE YOU CAN COME UP WITH
A BETTER WEEK IN AMERICAN
DIPLOMACY OVERSEAS, OVER THE
PAST 20 YEARS, IN THE 21st
CENTURY.
IVE BEEN TRYING TO FIGURE IT
OUT OVER THE PAST 12 HOURS.
I CANT THINK OF A MORE
SUCCESSFUL DIPLOMATIC TRIP IN
THE 21st CENTURY THAN THIS ONE.
SIMPLY BECAUSE WE FINALLY DID
THE BASICS.
WE WERENT GOING AROUND TALKING
ABOUT WARS WE WERE STARTING OR
WARS THAT WE WERE IN, BUT WE
WERE NAILING DOWN OUR SPECIAL
RELATIONSHIP, OUR G-7
RELATIONSHIPS, OUR NATO
RELATIONSHIPS. AND THEN GOING AS A UNITED FREE
AND THEN GOING AS A UNITED FREE
WORLD TO VLADIMIR PUTIN.
>> I THINK THATS RIGHT.
I THINK WHAT PRESIDENT BIDEN
SHOWED HERE, WATCHING IT FROM
AFAR, WAS THE PRODUCT OF DECADES
OF BEING CHAIRMAN OF SENATE
FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE,
BEING VICE PRESIDENT.
AND OF HAVING A REALLY -- ITS
ALMOST INTUITIVE, RIGHT -- SENSE
OF WHAT DIPLOMACY IS.
HE DEFINED IT AS THE SCIENCE OF
HUMAN RELATIONSHIPS.
AND IT DOESNT MEAN -- THE
PRESIDENT WASNT SAYING, OH, IF
I CAN GET IN A ROOM WITH
SOMEBODY, WE CAN ALWAYS MAKE A
DEAL, WHICH WOULD BE A VERY
TRUMPIAN THING TO SAY, RIGHT?
THATS THE OTHER INTERESTING
THING HERE, IS THAT BIDENS
DIPLOMACY WAS ABOUT THE NATION
AND THE ALLIANCE, NOT HIMSELF.
ITS A SUBTLETY, BUT HE TALKED
ABOUT THAT DIPLOMACY IS AN
EXTENSION OF PERSONAL
RELATIONSHIPS BY OTHER MEEPS, HE
DIDNT, I DONT THINK, REALLY
MEAN LEADER-TO-LEADER, SO MUCH
AS NATIONS, ACTING AS A
SELF-INTEREST. HE SAID NATIONS ARE PEOPLE, OR
HE SAID NATIONS ARE PEOPLE, OR
THE MAN FEATION OF ONE WILL AND ONE FISSION.
ONE FISSION.
THFLT TO ME AS THERE WERE TWO
TRIBUTARIES MEETING.
THE OTHER IS, THIS IS A VERY
PRACTICAL MANS THAT BELIEVES IN
THESE IDEALS AND BELIEVES THAT
DIPLOMACY IS HARD WORK.
ITS MEAT AND POTATOES.
YOU JUST KEEP PLUGGING.
AND THERE WAS -- I GUESS MY
INTERESTING -- MY INSIGHT,
WATCHING THE PRESS CONFERENCE
YESTERDAY WAS, THERE WAS A KIND
OF POETRY IN HIS PROSE.
DOES THAT MAKE SENSE?
NOT LITERALLY HIS PROSE, BUT
JUST THE WHOLE THING.
IT WAS STRAIGHTFORWARD, AND BY
BEING SO STRAIGHTFORWARD IT,
SEEMS KIND OF EVALUATING TO ME.
>> YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A MOMENT,
TOO, GUYS, DURING THE PRESS
CONFERENCE OF PRESIDENT PUTIN
WHERE HE INVOKED JANUARY 6th,
INVOKED THE BLACK LIVES MATTER
MATTERS MOVEMENT, WHEN HE WAS
ASKED BY AN ABC NEWS REPORTER
ABOUT HIS CRUSHING OF LITTLE
OPPONENTS.
HERES PRESIDENT PUTIN.
>> IF I MAY, SIR, THE LISTS OF
YOUR POLITICAL OPPONENTS WHO ARE
DEAD, IMPRISON PD OR JAILED OR J
LONG.
ALEXEI NAVALNYS ORGANIZATION
CALLS FOR FREE AND FAIR
ELECTIONS AND AN END TO
CORRUPTION, BUT RUSSIA HAS
OUTLAWED THAT ORGANIZATION,
CALLING IT EXTREMIST.
AND YOU HAVE NOW PREVENTED
ANYONE WHO SUPPORTS HIM TO RUN
FOR OFFICE.
SO MY QUESTION, MR. PRESIDENT,
IS WHAT ARE YOU SO AFRAID OF?
>> THEY ARE NOT PROHIBITED FROM
WORKING.
THEY CAN CONTINUE TO OPERATE.
FOREIGN AGENTS DONT NEED TO
STOP OPERATING.
IF THEY ARE EXTREMIST IN NATURE,
THATS ANOTHER THING.
THE ORGANIZATION YOU MENTION HAS
PUBLICLY CALLED FOR MASS
DISORDER.
>> YOU DIDNT ANSWER MY
QUESTION, SIR.
IF ALL OF YOUR POLITICAL
OPPONENTS ARE DEAD, IMPRISONED,
POISONED, DOESNT THAT SEND A
MESSAGE THAT YOU NOT WANT A FAIR
POLITICAL FIGHT?
>> Translator: AS FOR WHO IS
KILLING WHOM OR THROWING WHOM IN
JAIL, PEOPLE CAME TO THE U.S.
CONGRESS WITH POLITICAL DEMANDS.
400 PEOPLE.
OVER 400 PEOPLE HAD CRIMINAL
CHARGES PLACED ON THEM.
>> KATTY KAY, ITS SO
INTERESTING TO WATCH PRESIDENT
PUTIN.
HE JUST DOESNT HAVE TO FACE
QUESTIONS LIKE THIS, OBVIOUSLY,
AT HOME.
SO BY DOING THAT PRESS
CONFERENCE, HE WAS FACING
WESTERN JOURNALISTS WHO WERE
GOING TO ASK QUESTIONS AND
FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS.
BUT THE TERM WHATABOUTISM MAYBE
HAS BEEN OVERUSED OVER THE LAST
COUPLE OF DAYS, BUT ITS EXACTLY
WHAT PRESIDENT PUTIN WAS DOING,
COMPARING JANUARY 6th AND THE
BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENTS TO
THE MURDER OF POLITICAL
DISSIDENTS, TO THE JAILING OF
ALEXEI NAVALNY.
>> AND LOOK, ITS POSSIBLE THAT
PUTIN BELIEVES WHAT HES SAYING,
BUT WHEN YOU WATCH HIM IN A
SITUATION LIKE THAT, HE SEEMS
SUCH A MASTER OF THE ART OF
DISINFORMATION AND OF LYING,
FRANKLY, THAT YOU KIND OF THINK
HE KNOWS HES NOT TELLING THE
TRUTH, HE KNOWS THAT WE KNOW
HES NOT TELLING THE TRUTH, BUT
HES PUTIN, SO HE CAN GET AWAY
WITH IT.
THE TRUTH ABOUT WHATABOUTISM,
YOU CAN ANY FURTHERNEVER WIN AT
THERE WAS SOME PRESSURE ON BIDEN
TO RESPOND TO THAT IN HIS PRESS
CONFERENCE AND HE TALKED ABOUT
THE FACT THAT THERE WAS NO
COMPARISON, THESE WERE CRIMINALS
THAT CAME TO CAPITOL HILL.