White House and CNN Butt Heads Over Ukraine Phone Call Reporting
When it comes to dealing with the ever-unpredictable Vladimir Putin, it is truly imperative that you arrive at the negotiating table with a clear mind and a tidy house behind you. Any weakness back home is like blood in the water to the Russian dictator, and Joe Biden may just be learning this lesson the hard way this week.
That’s because, for all of the hype and the worry that the US is exuding on the subject of Russia invading Ukraine, it appears that our counterparts in Europe are calm. And, with this sort of disparity, friction often arises.
CNN had reported earlier about some of that friction between US President Joe Biden and his equal in Ukraine…and the White House was not happy.
CNN’s report Thursday that a phone call between President Biden and Ukrainian President Zelensky “did not go well” received swift pushback ass spokespeople for both leaders disputed the claim.
“We have breaking news for you in our world lead, a senior Ukrainian official tells CNN that today’s phone call between President Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ‘did not go well.’ Our source tells CNN that the two disagreed about the immediacy of a threat between a Russian attack on Ukraine,” CNN’s Jake Tapper told viewers.
But then…
WH tells CNN “anonymous sources are ‘leaking falsehoods’. President Biden said that there is a distinct possibility” Russians could invade in February, not to “prepare for impact” https://t.co/hQUJFaY4w2
— The Lead CNN (@TheLeadCNN) January 28, 2022
This sort of confusion certainly won’t bolster Biden’s concerns about Russia on the global stage, and could even lead to the sort of flippancy that sees Ukraine at the mercy of Mother Russia.