It’s been a rough couple of days for the White House. The administration has been walking back President Biden’s statement that Putin should not be in power, yet Biden insists the U.S. will not do anything to remove Putin as Russia’s leader. The Commander in Chief’s words still fall in line with NATO’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, though Republicans and Democrats are critical of Biden’s comments. Recent polling numbers suggest those comments and lack of action by our government are a part of a steady decline of America as a world power. I spoke to Ron Faucheaux, Political Analyst and Publisher of Lunchtime Politics, about these issues and to provide context to the situation.
The President stands by his statement that Putin should be removed from power, though there will be no action on those words by the U.S. It seems as though Biden doesn’t fully understand what he said.
When you're dealing with these sensitive matters of foreign policy and, in this case, an active shooting war, any President has to be careful about what they say. Joe Biden did this when he was in his 30s and 40s, not just now in his late 70s. I think he loves to talk and say things that he feels he can phrase better than anyone, but it makes it difficult. I'm sure his staff will get him to follow a written text… as President, saying Vladimir Putin shouldn’t be in power has all kinds of implications. Maybe he should read more scripted statements, as Barack Obama did. Donald Trump would often go off script. Biden needs to be more disciplined, in terms of these public statements.
My issue with NATO is the membership requirement that a country spend 2% of their GDP on their military. The U.S. is one of the few members that actually do. We as taxpayers make the sacrifice to spend on our own defenses, and whether you’re Republican, Democrat or Independent, we need to be concerned about NATO’s commitment to their own rules.
Donald Trump made that an issue when he was President and I think a lot of people agree with him. The American people are responding to major NATO countries participating in economic sanctions, and providing supplies to Ukraine, and strengthening their own defenses in case there’s a problem with Putin invading NATO countries. I think NATO has moved in the right direction, showing that when threatened, NATO countries can respond. The question is, what happens when the war in Ukraine is over?
Americans were polled on whether what we're facing is just a tough time or a long term decline in the country. 42% said this is just a tough time right now, and 53% of Americans see this as a longer term decline. What do we attribute this to?
I think that feeling has been growing over time. The uncertainty of the economy disturbs a lot of people. Also, I think our experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq contributed to the lack of trust in our government and elected officials have compounded these thoughts. Plus, China has outcompeted us in building its economy, even though we're still by far the largest economy in the world. I think it's a combination of all those things. Still, it’s very troubling when a majority of your citizens think we’re in the start of a long term decline and the U.S. is no longer the leading country in the world.
