President Joe Biden attempted an early victory lap this week on Twitter, touting the effects of sanctions on Russia’s currency and economy. The sanctions did affect the country, but Biden’s tweet was a bit premature. The country’s currency has already rebounded from the volatility it experienced earlier in March.
“As a result of our unprecedented sanctions, the ruble was almost immediately reduced to rubble, President Biden,” said in a tweet on March 26.
The Russian ruble was valued at approximately 84 rubles for one U.S. dollar before Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine. It fell as low as 139 rubles per dollar, then rebounded. At the time of this tweet, the exchange rate for the Russian ruble was 102 rubles for each dollar. But as I write this, the exchange rate is 81.75 rubles per dollar. So yes, the ruble is now worth more than it was before the invasion.
For further perspective, when I lived in Russia in 2018, one dollar was worth 67 rubles. That is only 14 rubles less than its current value, and that was before a worldwide pandemic and record-breaking inflation. In short, the devastation caused by sanctions against Russia has been exaggerated. Experts have said the worldwide increase in gas and oil prices, perhaps partly a consequence of our oil and gas sanctions against Russia, is mostly responsible for the ruble’s quick rebound.
As a result of our unprecedented sanctions, the ruble was almost immediately reduced to rubble.
The Russian economy is on track to be cut in half.
It was ranked the 11th biggest economy in the world before this invasion — and soon, it will not even rank among the top 20.
— President Biden (@POTUS) March 26, 2022
Biden’s inability to foresee the ruble rebounding shows a startling lack of policy acumen. This is at least the fourth time Biden and his advisers have been caught off-guard by predictable outcomes. First came the Taliban retaking Afghanistan; second, the emergence of COVID-19 variants; third, the border crisis that Biden’s policies caused; and now, the rebound of the Russian ruble.
Through the first 15 months of the Biden administration, the president has demonstrated a remarkable ability to make situations worse, be consistently wrong, and lie to the public. His latest flub with the ruble is a typical sample of his presidency.
