Joe Biden’s trip to Finland was marked by serial creepiness. His mental deficiencies were also brought into the spotlight again, where he confused Iceland and Ireland while making odd remarks to a reporter, suggesting she might not make it home during a press conference Thursday. Finland became part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in April. The president declared here that Putin has already lost the war in Ukraine.
Yet, his departure raised the eyebrows of many as the president devolved into his usual aberrant behavior around children. It was already bad enough that he sniffed women’s hair without their permission, but Joe mocked nibbling a baby, who appeared to be in abject terror of dirty grandpa (via Fox News):
What is Joe Biden doing? pic.twitter.com/PLim6ocBFm
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 14, 2023
President Biden appeared to nibble at the shoulder of a startled little girl during his departure from Helsinki on Thursday.
A video of the incident, which took place as the president greeted embassy staff members and their families before he boarded Air Force One at Helsinki-Vantaan International Airport, shows Biden leaning into a young girl and placing his mouth on her shoulder as he nibbled lightly.
The little girl — who appeared frightened during the experience — later turned her head when Biden, who will turn 81 in November, tried to give her a peck on the head.
[…]
Republican operative Greg Price joked that Biden is "now confusing babies with ice cream cones."
[…]
The eyebrow-raising behavior from the president came as he concluded a five-day trip to Europe, where he participated in a Lithuanian summit to shore up support for Ukraine amid its war with Russia and showcase Finland's NATO membership.
Oh, but that’s not all. Let’s circle back to Joe’s failed geography lesson and this business about a journalist not being able to make it home (via NY Post):
President Biden grew flustered with a reporter here Thursday and angrily told her that she doesn’t know if she will make it home — after he confused the nations of Iceland and Ireland, the latter of which he called his “home” despite nearly two centuries of genealogical distance.
Iida Tikka, of Finland’s public broadcaster YLE, was the second member of the press in two days to provoke a presidential outburst in response to a question.
“What actions will you take to assure Finland that US will remain a reliable NATO partner for decades to come?” she asked at a press conference after noting fringe American politicians who oppose US membership in the Atlantic alliance.
“I absolutely guarantee it,” Biden began, citing “overwhelming support” for NATO from the US public and Congress before adding, “no one can guarantee the future, but this is the best bet anyone could make.”
The reporter then addressed Finnish President Sauli Niinistö, asking: “Hearing this answer that no one can guarantee a future, are you worried that the political instability in the US will cause issues in the alliance in the future?”
“Let me be clear,” Biden interjected, “I didn’t say we didn’t guarantee — we couldn’t guarantee the future. You can’t tell me whether you’re gonna be able to go home tonight. No one can be sure what they’re gonna do.”
There have been reports of European nations forming contingency plans as they don’t have much faith in the Biden administration’s leadership. For some reason, Europe thought Biden was a foreign policy ace. That’s never been true, but that illusion across the Atlantic was shattered when Afghanistan fell apart. Of course, The Washington Post decided to paint this trip as a hallmark of American leadership abroad, the theme of lede oozing ‘Biden is not Trump’:
President Biden defiantly declared Thursday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has “already lost the war” in Ukraine, making the stark assertion on a visit to the newest member of the NATO alliance as he wrapped up his five-day trip to Europe with a stop in Finland.
Biden’s visit drew a sharp contrast with a 2018 trip to Finland by his predecessor, Donald Trump, who held a private meeting with Putin in the same location and created a furor when he suggested he trusted the Russian president more than he did America’s intelligence services.
Biden’s 21 hours in Helsinki capped an eventful three-country excursion in which he sought to rally global partners around a joint commitment to support Ukraine against Russia and bolster NATO, while also making a case for his broader foreign policy approach ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
“At every stop in every summit on this trip, we focused on using the power of partnership to take on the challenges that matter most to the people’s lives in our countries,” Biden said during a joint news conference Thursday with Finnish President Sauli Niinistö.
That’s fine, but Trump never wanted to munch on babies.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member