Kremlin Fires Back at Biden’s Insult

The relationship between the US and Russia is frosty, to put it mildly. Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused America of fighting a proxy war against his country by helping Ukraine protect itself. President Joe Biden and the Kremlin are now in a war of words.

On February 21, Biden attended a fundraiser in San Francisco, California, and discussed the threat of weapons of mass destruction. He reportedly called Putin a “crazy S.O.B” and said the US always has “to worry about nuclear conflict” as long as he and people like him are around.

Dmitri Peskov, a spokesperson for the Kremlin, responded to the remarks by the US president the next day. The New York Times reported he said it was “Hollywood cowboy-style behavior to serve [Biden’s] domestic political interests.”

Putin responded to the remarks by Biden in a television interview. He said he believed the comments were the result of his decision to endorse the current president for a second term. Putin claimed the reason Biden called him names was because he couldn’t thank him for helping him with the endorsement. Putin said he understands what’s “happening with internal politics in the US.”

The Russian president reportedly called Biden’s remarks “rude.”

Putin’s endorsement of Biden was ironic considering the years the Democratic Party has spent claiming former President Donald Trump was in bed with the Russian president. In 2016, then-President Barack Obama’s administration launched an investigation into Trump’s campaign and allies over allegations they were colluding with Russia. Those claims were unfounded.

In the years since, Democrats have refused to drop the notion that Putin and Trump are close. So, when Putin suddenly endorsed the 46th president, it appeared the Russian president was mocking Biden. Putin’s remarks after the POTUS called him names seemed to further highlight that.

As amusing as the back and forth is, the fact that the American president didn’t exhibit more self-control when talking about his Russian counterpart during these tense times will almost certainly concern some Americans.