President Joe Biden appeared to lash out at a reporter’s question about Russian President Vladimir Putin which led to Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) calling for an apology from the president.
As reporters left a meeting at the White House on Thursday, Fox News’s Jacqui Heinrich, a female reporter, asked the president, “Why are you waiting on Putin to make the first move, sir?”
Biden is heard responding, “what a stupid question” to the reporter’s question.
REPORTER: “Why are you waiting on Putin to make the first move, sir?”
BIDEN: “What a stupid question.” pic.twitter.com/rcKxNePAR3
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 20, 2022
Senator Blackburn shared the exchange on Twitter, writing, “This is extremely sexist and uncalled for. @JacquiHeinrich is a well-prepared, smart reporter, and Biden should apologize immediately.”
This is extremely sexist and uncalled for. @JacquiHeinrich is a well-prepared, smart reporter, and Biden should apologize immediately. https://t.co/qFGqyFxPp2
— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) January 21, 2022
The exchange between the president and the reporter came after Biden’s Wednesday press conference when he said that the U.S. and NATO allies’ response to a potential Russian invasion would depend on whether it was a “minor incursion” or not.
“Russia will be held accountable if it invades,” Biden said on Wednesday. “And it depends on what it does. It’s one thing if it’s a minor incursion and then we end up having a fight about what to do and not do, et cetera,” he continued. “But if they actually do what they’re capable of doing with the forces amassed on the border, it is going to be a disaster for Russia if they further invade Ukraine.”
Biden’s comments were later clarified by his press secretary, Jen Psaki, who released a statement that read, “President Biden has been clear with the Russian President: If any Russian military forces move across the Ukrainian border, that’s a renewed invasion, and it will be met with a swift, severe, and united response from the United States and our Allies. President Biden also knows from long experience that the Russians have an extensive playbook of aggression short of military action, including cyberattacks and paramilitary tactics. And he affirmed today that those acts of Russian aggression will be met with a decisive, reciprocal, and united response.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]
Photo “Marsha Blackburn” by Marsha Blackburn.
