“Put him in a body bag.”
Did that really happen at a Biden State Department press conference? Did the media push back on an attempt by this administration to take credit for a Trump-era policy? Yes, it happened. And the spokesperson was not too pleased for being called out for this attempted gaslighting of Trump’s Russia policy. The Associated Press’s Matt Lee was not going to allow Biden State Department spokesperson Ned Price to take credit for it, as it was clearly outlined and executed under the Trump administration. Lee is aggressive noting that this is a bit disingenuous, as the Biden administration has been in power for roughly a month. In that period, all of these companies just didn’t change their tune.
The question dealt with the Nord Stream II pipeline, which reportedly has our European allies worried since they think Biden will be too weak-kneed to handle Putin. Now that’s some irony (via Axios):
Russia's adversaries in central and Eastern Europe are worried President Biden isn't willing to fight hard to stop the Russia-Germany gas pipeline Nord Stream 2 — one of Vladimir Putin's core priorities.
…The fight is the first significant test of whether Biden's tough rhetoric against the Russian leader will be matched by action. Russian opponents fear Biden doesn't want to antagonize Angela Merkel and won't inflict serious costs on the Germans.
…The completion of Nord Stream 2 would be a huge geopolitical win for Putin and give him substantial new leverage in Europe. Russia has cut off natural gas supplies to Ukraine as retribution in disputes.
Price said some 18 companies are starting to scale down their involvement with this project, which cued up the fireworks (via State Dept.):
QUESTION: Ned, don’t you think it’s a bit disingenuous to claim credit for the 18 companies winding down? All of this work was done under the previous administration.
MR PRICE: Matt, I’m not —
QUESTION: You guys have only been in a month for —
MR PRICE: Matt —
QUESTION: I mean, only been in office for a month, right? Are you telling me that in the last four weeks —
MR PRICE: Matt, I am —
QUESTION: — these 18 companies all of a sudden decided to say, “Oh my God, we better not do anything with Nord Stream 2.”
MR PRICE: Matt, I am speaking for the —
QUESTION: All of that you’re taking —
MR PRICE: I am speaking —
QUESTION: You guys are taking credit for stuff that the previous administration did, right?
MR PRICE: Matt, Matt, I am not —
QUESTION: No? Yes or no?
MR PRICE: I am speaking for the Department of State.
QUESTION: Okay. All right.
MR PRICE: The people who have been working this —
QUESTION: Okay.
MR PRICE: — and the people who are working this now were the same people a month ago or the same people —
QUESTION: Three months ago?
MR PRICE: Three months ago.
QUESTION: Four months ago?
MR PRICE: So I —
QUESTION: Okay, all right. So I just don’t want to – I just —
QUESTION: Just one following up on that? So the administration is committed to ensuring that that pipeline is not completed?
MR PRICE: Our position on this has not changed. To Matt’s point, we have the same position that the previous administration had. It is a bad deal, it is bad for Europe, it is in contravention of Europe’s own stated energy goals.
Wait, I thought Trump was a Russian puppet or something? The Biden administration line is that their position is a continuation of a…Trump policy?
Do we need a special counsel probe for this? Or maybe, Trump’s foreign policy wasn’t as terrible as the media made it out to be, huh?
For the idiots, welcome to the party. For everyone else, grab some popcorn. And good on the AP for this, even a broken clock is right twice a day.