Reagan White House alumni praises Biden’s ‘skillful’ handling of Ukraine crisis

Although veteran conservative columnist and former Nancy Reagan speechwriter Mona Charen voted for Joe Biden in the United States’ 2020 presidential election and is a scathing critic of former President Donald Trump, she hasn’t been shy about criticizing Biden’s presidency at times. But in an article published by The Bulwark on March 9, Charen praises Biden’s handling of the Ukraine crisis.

The 65-year-old Charen opens her article with some criticisms of Biden, including his decision to “withdraw precipitously from Afghanistan” and his failure to prioritize “the urgent need to reform the Electoral Count Act.” And Charen also criticizes Biden for “devoting most of his first year to assuaging the demands of the progressive wing of his party.”

But Charen adds, “And yet, I thank God every day that Biden is president.”

“The Russian offensive against Ukraine is the first crisis of his presidency other than COVID, which was ongoing when he assumed office,” Charen explains. “And in this emergency, he has redeemed the hopes of those who voted for competence. The (Biden) Administration’s warnings to Moscow were unambiguous without being hysterical. Our revelations of intelligence unmasking Russian disinformation and false flag narratives were on the nose. Biden’s coordination with European allies was neither bullying nor ‘leading from behind,’ but a skillful presentation of unity. Special kudos to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.”

Charen continues, “Biden’s muscular reaffirmation of the U.S. commitment to NATO was crucial not just for Europe, but for the world. China is taking notes on how the globe is responding to Putin and perhaps thinking twice about trying to conquer Taiwan. By proclaiming American solidarity with Ukraine and our democratic allies around the world, Biden has restored our equilibrium. If Ronald Reagan were still alive, he’d find little to criticize in the Administration’s approach.”

Thousands of people have been killed since Russian troops, following orders from President Vladimir Putin, invaded Ukraine on February 24. The Biden Administration and his European NATO allies have responded to the crisis with tough economic sanctions against Russia, although Biden has insisted that U.S. troops will not be offering any “boots on the ground” in Ukraine.

Trump and other MAGA Republicans, including Fox News’ Tucker Carlson, “War Room” host Steve Bannon and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, have praised Putin in 2022. And Charen makes it clear that she considers Trump one of Putin’s “useful idiots.”

“The Ukraine crisis reminds us that Trump is no run-of-the-mill fool, but a unique combination of stupidity and venality,” Charen writes. “A quick refresher on his relations with Putin and Ukraine leaves little doubt that far from deterring Putin, he was Putin’s most reliable ‘useful idiot’…. Trump was a dupe and a dope…. Trump often repeated Putin’s talking points.”

Charen argues that Trump admires Putin because the Russian president is a strongman.

“Trump is a disturbed human being who is constantly revealing his attraction to violence and ‘strength,’” Charen writes. “Even as Putin was smashing his tanks into Ukraine, Trump fawned over his ‘genius’ and then boasted that ‘I know him very, very well.’ He said it was ‘wonderful.’ He backtracked after a day or two, but doubtless only after being advised that it was politically unwise. But if, God forbid, there were ever a second term, political considerations wouldn’t be dispositive — and the most sinister and credulous man ever to disgrace the Oval Office would be unconstrained. Biden hasn’t been perfect, but he’s a godsend given the alternative.”