Update:
A live update from Kyle Morris for Fox News noted that Biden will call Vladimir Putin on Saturday from Camp David. Russia had initially wanted to wait until Monday, but agreed to Saturday when the United States pushed back.
Original:
While the world prepares for Russia to invade Ukraine, it's worth checking in on what President Joe Biden is doing to monitor the crisis. World War III could be starting, as a Twitter trend picked up on, but Biden has kept to his plans to go to Camp David for the weekend.
The president does not appear to have a care in the world, as he posed for selfies and shook hands, all while not taking questions shouted at him. For Biden, though, this looks like business as usual, in that a crisis is occurring all while he is less than available to the press.
President Biden took selfies and shook hands with staff ahead of his departure to Camp David.
— Philip Melanchthon Wegmann (@PhilipWegmann) February 11, 2022
Half an hour ago, @JakeSullivan46 told us Russia could invade Ukraine in 24-48 hours.
Biden did not take questions. pic.twitter.com/nPSGTtGmbd
Under the Twitter trend of "Camp David" are numerous tweets from reporters noting the president's behavior, as well as a video clip from The Hill that is nearly a minute and a half long.
Spencer's reporting highlights the concerning reality that the United States will not be able to rescue Americans who have been told to evacuate Ukraine:
Echoing similar warnings from the United Kingdom and European Union, Sullivan urged "any Americans in Ukraine" to "leave as soon as possible... the next 24 to 48 hours" because "the risk is now high enough and the threat is now immediate enough." More ominously, Sullivan told U.S. citizens "if you stay, you are assuming risk with no guarantee that there will be any other opportunity to leave" and there is "no prospect of a U.S. military evacuation" to retrieve Americans.
The warning is reminiscent of the catastrophic withdrawal from Afghanistan, reflecting that the Biden administration has not learned its lesson when it comes to leaving Americans behind.
As Matt mentioned last week, citing a Senate report, it looks like at least 9,000 Americans were left behind in Afghanistan.
Biden's plans for this weekend are not the only time he's been elsewhere during an international crisis. Last August, as Mazar-i-Sharif became the last major city in northern Afghanistan to fall to the Taliban, Biden was at Camp David, after he had already been in Delaware. While the president came back to the White House, it involved "remarks on the COVID-19 response and the vaccination program." After talking about Afghanistan, which involved blaming former President Donald Trump, he headed back to Camp David.
Two sources familiar say Pres. Biden intends to spend weekend at Camp David reviewing materials on his Supreme Court candidates including their writings and
— Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) February 11, 2022
background. The president may begin the interview process early next week but timing still TBD.
The president will reportedly be looking over Supreme Court candidates while at Camp David. Biden and the White House have doubled down on a campaign promise to limit this nominee to a Black woman.