President Joe Biden, speaking at a fundraiser in San Francisco, labelled Russian President Vladimir Putin as a “crazy SOB,” stressing the persistent threat of nuclear conflict while asserting that climate change poses the ultimate danger to humanity.
Biden underscored, “This is the last existential threat. It is climate.
“We have a crazy SOB like that guy Putin and others, and we always have to worry about nuclear conflict, but the existential threat to humanity is climate,” conveying his concerns to a small group of donors.
Biden’s propensity for candid language is not new; in January 2022, he was captured on a hot mic using the same derogatory term towards a Fox News White House reporter.
The President often veers off script during election fundraisers, recently directing criticism towards the Chinese government, the Republican Party, and even U.S. ally Israel for its actions in the Gaza Strip.
His rhetoric against Putin has notably escalated both in official White House statements and on the campaign trail.
Just last week, Biden pointedly accused Putin and “his thugs” of the death of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, stating, “We don’t know exactly what happened, but there is no doubt that the death of Navalny was a consequence of something that Putin and his thugs did,” in response to Russian prison officials announcing Navalny’s demise.
Despite Kremlin denials of involvement in Navalny’s death, Biden remains steadfast in his stance, exacerbating the already strained relations between the U.S. and Russia, particularly since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years prior, which prompted sanctions from the U.S. and other Western nations.
In a further escalation, Biden announced plans for a substantial sanctions package against Russia concerning Navalny’s death and the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.
Meanwhile, his anticipated Republican rival, former President Donald Trump, has previously expressed admiration for Putin but recently drew parallels between himself and Navalny, a comparison that Biden dismissed with incredulity, stating, “I don’t know where the hell this comes from.”