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US PRESIDENT JOE Biden issued forceful warnings to China and Russia on Sunday and expressed optimism over the US economic rebound, but surprised many by hedging on whether he’ll seek re-election.
In a rare, wide-ranging interview with the CBS “60 Minutes” program, Biden went back on repeated assertions by the White House that he is sure to run in 2024.
Biden, who turns 80 in November, told interviewer Scott Pelley that re-election is his “intention.”
“But is it a firm decision that I run again? That remains to be seen,” he said.
“It’s much too early,” Biden said, calling himself “a great respecter of fate.”
Surveying the state of the world’s largest economy, Biden was optimistic.
He declared the Covid pandemic in the United States “over” and predicted that his administration would tame inflation — the main reason for his weak approval ratings and the reason Republicans believe they can take control of Congress in the upcoming November midterms.
“We’re going to get control of inflation,” he said.
In another surprise moment, Biden once again appeared to challenge decades of US policy on Taiwan with a vow that he would send troops to defend the self-ruling island if China tried to invade.
“Yes,” he said, adding that this would happen if it were “an unprecedented attack” — possibly referring to something beyond the frequent saber rattling conducted by Chinese military forces around Taiwan.
Under US policy known as “strategic ambiguity,” Washington recognizes Chinese sovereignty but opposes any forceful attempt to end Taiwan’s de facto self-rule. While Washington does arm Taiwan, there is no clear promise of direct US military support.
The White House said that Biden’s latest remarks do not indicate a change.
In another tough message to the United States’ biggest economic and geopolitical rival, Biden said he had warned President Xi Jinping not to support Russia militarily in its invasion of Ukraine.
He said he told Xi that US and other foreign investment in China would be disrupted and to think otherwise would be “a gigantic mistake.”
He also said that if Russian President Vladimir Putin uses nuclear or other non-conventional weapons against Ukraine the US response will be “consequential.”
When asked what he would tell Putin if the Russian leader was mulling such a move, he said: “Don’t. Don’t. Don’t.”
Biden praised the Ukrainians for their gritty fight against the huge Russian invasion force and said “they’re defeating Russia.”
Asked how to define victory for Kyiv, he said “winning the war in Ukraine is to get Russia out of Ukraine completely.”
But given the scale of human suffering and destruction inflicted in resisting the Russian onslaught, “it’s awful hard to count that as winning,” he added.
Despite his poor ratings and polls showing Democrats likely to lose control of at least one chamber of Congress, Biden said he is upbeat.
Noting that employment is booming and the economy is strong, Biden said “we hope we can have, as they say, a soft landing.”
On questions whether at his age he is physically and mentally able to continue in the grueling job, Biden said: “watch me.”
“It’s a matter of, you know, that old expression — ‘the proof of the pudding is in the eating.’”
When asked his source of inspiration when times get tough, Biden mentioned his son Beau who died in 2015 but also his parents’ exhortation to “just get up.”
Biden said he had “a lot more to give.”
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Worst president ever
@John Fahy: after Trump maybe.
@Philip Cooper: what did trump DO that was as bad?
@james s: Americans attacked their own on Capitol Hill under Trump.
@james s: trump lied, cheated and did his best to destroy the us, he treated it like one of his businesses. He cheer-leaded criminal and dictators. Do you think trump will be taught in schools as a good role model?
@Philip Cooper: Trump may not be a very likeable individual but the fact remains that he performed really well on the economy, jobs, internal and external affairs. The US is falling apart under Biden.
@james s: stayed silent for hours while his minions wrecked the capitol building and assaulted the police they claim to back so much. Paid hush money to adult film stars. Stole confidential documents and refused to turn them over to the point they had to be seized from him. Broke the emoluments clause. Tax fraud. Insurance fraud. Refused to turn over his tax returns for no good reason. Money laundering. Constant lying. Grifting money through his rallies to pay for his campaign fund that he insisted he funded himself.. etc..etc..etc..
@james s: Staged a coup, tried to overthrow an election and the government and incited an insurrection, spent 4 years undermining the UN, NATO and most US allies, supported and legitimized thesome of the worst dictators on the planet, increased the number of drone strikes (ie extra judicial murders), undermined US democratic system, promoted the far right, promoted mental conspiracy theories, seemingly stole top secret & classified government documents and lied about it and obstructed authorities, stacked the supreme court for the express purpose of taking away peoples rights starting with abortion and lining up same sex marriage, contraception and who knows what else. This list is not exhaustive.
Biden is just a standard neoliberal American politician who is inept.
@Gareth Murphy: don’t forget he also withheld top secret documents on another country’s nuclear capabilities that he was legally required to hand over, with the probability that he was going to use them to further himself in some way…. C U next Tuesday Donald
@John Fahy: you overlooked one minor detail that the world’s economy was doing well then and the world’s economy is doing bad now.
@james s: Trump spent the majority of his presidency fighting legal battles, and getting into more legal trouble. The rest of the time he was watching tv and playing golf
@John Fahy: Incorrect. Millions of jobs were lost under Trump as a result of Covid. The US also had the biggest debt since WWII.
@A$AP Ragnick: Yes but other than stayed silent for hours while his minions wrecked the capitol building and assaulted the police they claim to back so much. Paid hush money to adult film stars. Stole confidential documents and refused to turn them over to the point they had to be seized from him. Broke the emoluments clause. Tax fraud. Insurance fraud. Refused to turn over his tax returns for no good reason. Money laundering. Constant lying. Grifting money through his rallies to pay for his campaign fund that he insisted he funded himself, what else did Trump so thar was bad?
@A$AP Ragnick: Not saying all of that is not true but has he been conficted,not a fan of his but has all that been proven in a court of law at the moment.
@james s: Attempted a coup after losing a legitimate election. Divided the US nation like no other President before him. Politicised Covid and bungled it’s handling. Hobbled the EPA. Extorted the Ukrainian President for dirt on his political rivals. Broke campaign finance laws (see Cohen for reference). Legitimised racism by dehumanising immigrants. Gave massive tax cuts to the richest in society. Wished Ghislane Maxwell “all the best” and called her a “good person” when asked about her charges. Said there were “good people on both sides” when asked about a neo Nazi rally. There is a reason he was endorsed by David Duke, a former grand wizard of the KKK. That’s not to mention his “charity” being used for personal gain which resulted in his family members being barred from running one.
Good, hes too old to be president. It should be obvious to everyone at this stage
@Sean Casey: Sure, consider the alternatives? Let’s not hark back as some Americans do to the flawed notion of founding dynasties. There’s a term limit for very good reasons.
@Sean Casey: literally handled the Russian crisis perfectly and is standing up to China. Winning against a force that is using nuclear weapons as a threat has never been done. But ya, sure he’s too old..
He’s almost 80 years old and himself and Nancy Pelosi, 82, are trying their best to start a major conflict before they kick the bucket
He’s not perfect but infinitely better than Trump and he’s been having Ireland’s back in the protocol row. But he’s too old to run for another term, I want to see someone young in there – 30′s, 40′s who can resonate with the younger demographic better.
Trump was an absolute disaster for the US.
@Seán Ó Briain: To be fair it’s not hard to be better then trump,to me that’s like saying the English queen was better than Hitler but agree they need some young 40-50.
have your say