The “Biden is Weak” Defense:
Part of the Disinformation Campaign from the Putin/Fox News Playbook
The Fox News line has been for some time that Biden is too weak and that is why Putin invaded. And though it is true that the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 and other incursions have been analyzed as points where the darker forces of the dictatorial leaders have planned incursions and tested new leaders with threats, there are huge flaws in this argument. But then, Logic has never been one of the strong suits of the right-wing propaganda machine.
If the Biden is weak theory is correct- because he is allowing this to happen and is perceived as a weak leader, then:
1. By that logic, FDR would be considered ‘weak’ if Hitler invaded Poland in 1939. No one has considered Franklin Roosevelt weak, as we watched a sovereign nation being invaded by another in the middle of Europe. Instead, Hitler, who had been in power for years, was seen as someone who was evil. The madman theory with Putin seems to be bandied about a lot these days…
2. If that is the case, and Biden is weaker than Trump, then we need to know what Trump & Putin did talk about! After all, if Trump was so strong and so cagey and skillful that he was able to find ways to appease the evil empire of Putin, we should know what he said. Where are the notes from the meetings that occurred of the talks between Trump & Putin? I believe they would be helpful to analyze the brilliant tactics Trump used to appease Putin.
Oh, wait! Trump either destroyed and ripped up notes from his meetings or asked note-keepers to leave during the meetings with Putin. (What about those Hillary emails eh?) So that is another avenue Trump has not only taken, to illegally destroy government documents, but also has created a space where we have no idea what he said or did to appease Putin. Shades of Neville Chamberlain, the appeaser in Chief. We can roll the tape to see him appease Putin in real time in Helsinki.
To add to the holes of this weak argument, John Bolton, who served as Trump’s National Security Adviser, just today said that Putin was waiting for Trump to withdraw from NATO in a second term before the invasion! Picture that scenario briefly…
3. Looking into the face of evil, we can only look at things as they are, and not look back on the past and wish they were different. Therefore, to help the people of Ukraine as well as to negotiate skillfully and then to walk a delicate line diplomatically without igniting World War III, we need a steady hand and experienced leaders who will tell the truth.
Trump & Trumpism check none of these boxes. Trump’s Attorney General Barr just tattled on the big bully former boss who slammed his hands on the desk and told AG Barr to leave immediately without going to his office! Trump tried to fire the head of the FBI while he was on a government trip, and not allow Jim Comey to fly on the plane the bureau provided for him. He also worked hard to get another of his ‘enemies’ in the FBI, Andrew McCabe, from having a pension provided to him. This was a pension that McCabe had worked his entire life to accrue. And the head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , General Mark Milley, and the Speaker of the House both agreed Trump should not have access to the Nuclear codes in his final days in office. He was that unstable.
We need strong leaders. We need leaders to tell us the truth, even when things are grim. COVID has been a terrible scourge for the nation and the world. Trump didn’t provide leadership at any point (Roll the tape on the COVID bleach speech), but instead worked continually to further his own interests.
The talking point from the GOP that “Biden is Weak” is one of the disinformation points that Putin could have created. Let’s use this inflection point in history to provide a clean slate for our future. We need to clear off the cobwebs and disinformation that have been created, with right- wing propaganda, plus Russia & Putin’s help, to further divide and weaken our country from within. We have enough problems in this world without living in a country that is divided against itself. Lincoln told us the truth. A house divided against itself cannot stand.
