broad d.a.'sing and viewers like
you.
Tough.
William: Good evening and
welcome to "Washington week, "
I'm William brangham.
President Biden welcomed in
Indian prime minister Modi.
The visit was aimed 59 drawing
the U.S. And India closer
together strategically while
also countering China's global
influence.
President Biden: Challenges and
opportunities facing the world
require that India and the
United States work and lead
together and we are.
William: This comes as tensions
between the U.S. And China
flared up again there week when
perspective Biden referred to
president XI jinping as a
dictator at a California
fundraiser.
A day after secretary of state
delicate diplomatic visit to
beijing.
On Thursday, Biden defended his
comments.
President Biden: I expect to be
meeting with president XI
sometime in the future.
I don't think it's had in I-real
consequence.
William: Joining us tonight is
Vivian.
She covers national security for
the "Wall Street journal" and
here with us in the studio.
Mary Bruce is the chief white
house correspondent for ABC
news.
Carl Hulse is the chief
Washington correspondent for the
"New York Times."
And weijia Jiang suspect senior
CBS correspondent.
Welcome and thank you so much
for being here.
Before we get to mod and I, his
visit, I want to talk about
amount breaking story in
Russia.
We're hearing reports out of
Moscow of armored columns in the
streets.
And the head of the Wagner group
has been threatening a coup and
that there was an arrest out for
him.
What can you tell us about what
is happening in Russia right
now?
>> There are pretty
extraordinary images unfolding
in Moscow as we speak.
The city essentially going into
lockdown after brogosian who is
the leader of the Wagner group,
an infamous group which has
supported the Russian campaign
in Ukraine and Syria and Africa.
We've seen resistance against
him as to how the campaign in
Ukraine is going.
While he is considered to be a
close ally, he has been critical
of the way the war is going,
saying that losses have been
severe and that the management
from the military has been awful
and he's called them out for
months now.
Today he went live on video and
said essentially his people, his
men were targeted by the
rushingen military and he said
he was essentially going to
fight back.
He's claimed that he's waking --
making his way towards Moscow so
the military has said that he is
planning an armed rebellion,
essentially a coup.
So we are seeing cracks in the
seemingly impenetrable front
that the Russians have had thus
far.
When -- where you have a very
plural figure coming out and
calling them out on severe
losses and mismanagements on
that.
Still unfolding but something we
have to watch very closely.
William: Indeed, Vivian, thanks
for the update.
Mary, prime minister Modi's
visit, this is just is third
official visit that president
Biden has had.
Mary: It was pretty remarkable.
Only the third state visit and
we saw the white house do the
full pomp and cirque cans --
circumstance.
Thousands of people on the front
lawn.
Moldy, who prides himself as
being a leader of this huge
democratic superpower but we're
seeing a back slide with them
when it comes to freshmen
freedom of the press, religious
and political freedom so this
white house took a lot of heat
for meeting with modey.
It's a balancing -- Modi thing
we've seen presidents do in the
past.
The president addressed a
question about human rights
during the press availability
but what struck me sitting in
the east room watching them
field questions was the history
of the moment because we saw
Modi do something he's a never
done in his nine-year tenure,
and that is take a question from
a live reporter, something that
all of us perhaps take for
granted.
Even this conversation was
something that would be
remarkable to many and to see
the look on the Indian reporters
was pretty wild.
It also reminded me of the power
of the white house to force Modi
essentially into that
situation.
He didn't have to do that and
yet this president, this
administration felt it was
important to put him in a
situation where he'd have to
take a question is.
Because it was about human
rights, it gave the Biden
administration a chance to
appear they were tackling this
issue.
Do I think it's going to change
Modi?
Certainly not but it showed the
power of the democratic values
at stake.
William: The white house seemed
eager to downplay these issues
of Modi's human right record,
arguing that this is a strategic
rhythm that we care a great deal
about and the sub text being we
care about India and their
ability to help counter China.
Help us understand how that
might actually work.
What are the things that China
could do to be a buffer?
>> Everything is having to do
with China.
When it comes to the economy and
U.S. Dependence on China and
that is why this relationship is
so important to the white
house.
And even thee the president
reiterated himself that they
talked about human rights and
democratic values behind closed
doors, it's incredibly important
to set the stage as beijing is
watching to show that we are
moving away from our need for
you, for things, when it comes
to technology, semiconductors.
They announced a match deal
today at the white house to
invest millions and millions of
dollars into India so that the
U.S. Wouldn't rely so much on
China for this.
So that is one way.
They also have formed a quad
relationship with not only India
but Australia as well and the
U.S. And being in the region, I
think that everything
strategically at this moment is
to prepare for China's nonstop
goal of trying to being the
superpower with a capital P.
Despite all the issues that Mary
just brought up.
This was incredibly important
for the president to roll out
the red carpet to show this that
the U.S. Is invested in not only
nurturing but building this
relationship more.
Carl: The indian-american voting
bullock is one of the fastest,
if not the fastest, voting
bullock in the country and you
see many more indian-american
politicians.
In the Republican primary, in
congress and the house when you
look out on the floor now so
both parties are maneuvering
here.
I think the general sense is
that bullock was more favorable
to Democrats and to Biden in the
last election so there's a lot
going on domestically but I have
to agree with Mary.
Presidents have made their
careers pushing these
considerations into the
background when there's a
serious strategic advantage and
I think in his speech to the
house and joint meeting of
congress, he sort of clear it
would bar he had to clear with
you it was minimal.
There wasn't the enthusiasm I've
seen for other speakers and they
were filling seats with pages
and other staff.
Although it was horribly
scheduled, on a Thursday
afternoon because most people
leave congress on Thursday.
>> And he was asked whether the
prime minister responded to the
president's questions.
And the answer was president
Biden was satisfied with the
opportunity to talk to him about
it.
So it was couched in the way you
would expect.
William: Vivian, president Biden
was overheard calling XI jinping
a dictatorror.
On one level, that is a classic
gaffe in that it is terribly
timed.
Earned president XI also does
fit most traditional definitions
of a dictator.
President Biden seems to think
this is not that big a deal and
this will all blow over.
Do you think the Chinese will
really take an affront to this?
Vivian: Whether or not they do,
they know they can't afford to
make it into a big deal.
President Biden's comments came
just as secretary of state
Anthony blinken was leaving for
this very high-profile trim
finally after the balloon
incident.
And both sides emphasized how
chemothey were to get over their
differences and try to find
common understanding because
they knew the stakes were so
high.
So these unscripted remarks from
president Biden on the heels off
that visit caught a lot of
people in the administration
offguard who had been working to
rebuild the ties and
communication between beijing
and Washington but they tried to
downplay it on both sides.
The very interesting thing that
happened immediately after
president Biden made those
comments is that there was an
official summoning of the U.S.
Ambassador Nicholas burns to
beijing and they gave him a good
finger-wagging but usually
Chinese state media would
advertise something like this.
Parade it around and celebrate
but this time there wasn't a
single mention of it.
They kid not want, a to draw
attention to anyone, let alone
the president of the united
States was referring to their
president as a dictator but they
were keen to build on that
moment from blinken's trim and
having some productive outcome
to come from it.
So the white house, when they
keep saying there's no fallout,
that's their hope and overit --