Some in the media might have a slight double standard when it comes to judging Donald Trump and Joe Biden on their respective policies toward Russia.
Very recently, the media were celebrating Biden’s willingness to identify Vladimir Putin for what he is. Namely, a cold-blooded killer. Finally, the commentariat declared, the days of Trump’s appeasement were over.
But hold that thought and consider the facts.
We now know that Trump challenged the Russian leader in at least two significant ways Biden is unwilling to replicate. Trump’s sanctions against the Nord Stream II energy pipeline, a cornerstone of Putin’s long-term European security strategy, and Trump’s regular deployment of U.S. warships into the Black Sea. The second point bears particular note this week. After all, as Russia masses mechanized divisions, strike aircraft, and logistics networks along Ukraine’s northern and eastern borders, Biden is blinking.
First, Biden warned that there would be consequences for Putin’s escalation against Ukraine’s fragile democracy. Then, the president authorized the deployment of two U.S. Navy destroyers into the Black Sea. Biden then canceled the Navy excursion in fear that America’s sailing through international waters might upset Russia (please don’t pay attention, China). Instead, Biden is now begging Putin for a summit. In that pursuit, on Monday, national security adviser Jake Sullivan subjected himself to a tirade from his Russian opposite, the hyper-anti-American Nikolai Patrushev.
Just imagine what they’d be saying if Trump had done this.
One suspects there might be a few more condemnatory media tweets. Still, even if his threat to Ukrainian sovereignty sustains, Putin has at least offered a favorable response to Biden’s appeasement policy in one way. He has accepted an invitation to address Biden’s climate summit (assuming, that is, China doesn’t absorb all the airtime with figurative and literal hot air).
This, we must presume, is what restoring American leadership looks like.
Interestingly, Britain appears to have made a different assessment. According to the Times, Britain will soon deploy one of its advanced Type-45 air defense destroyers and a frigate to the Black Sea. Those warships will operate under support from the Queen Elizabeth II carrier strike group’s air wing. Britain recognizes why such a display is important. Without it, Biden’s weakness will leave Ukraine caught between predictable Franco-German demands that he give ground to Putin and Putin’s invasion force.
This is not to say that Trump’s Russia record was reliable. Trump’s oft-stated affection for Putin was delusional and never rewarded. And although Trump was right to challenge freeloading allies (if Germany can still be considered an ally), his questioning of NATO’s Article Five mutual defense commitment undermined Western security. But the idea that Biden has somehow restored American leadership against Russian aggression?
Give me a break.
