June 17, 2021
A recent op-ed piece in the Financial Times stated “Biden politely reads the riot act to Putin.” I presume that means that Biden told Putin what we know, what we expect in the future, and what the consequences would be if we are disappointed. Only the future can tell us if this summit was successful. Sadly, Putin was also able to read the riot act to Biden. In a classic case of what about-ism, Putin constantly responded to questions from reporters by citing the insurrection of January 6th. Because Republicans have refused to condemn the insurrectionists in no uncertain terms as well as the “big lie,” Putin was able to claim that the United States was the one suppressing free speech and jailing dissidents. Donald Trump chose Putin over his own intelligence services at the infamous Helsinki press conference. Now Republicans are making Putin’s case for him. Someone should read them the riot act.
The Spin Doctor 