Biden Offers Excuse as to Why He Won't Visit Ukraine Border: Handlers Won't Let Me
Isn’t this guy the president?
President Joe Biden offered up an excuse as to why he wasn’t going to visit Ukraine during his European trip.
Biden pinned the decision on his staff, saying, “They will not let me.”
“You know, I’m here in Poland to see firsthand the humanitarian crisis,” the president said during a joint news conference Friday with Polish President Andrzej Duda in Rzeszow.
“And quite frankly,” he said, “part of my disappointment is that I can’t see it firsthand, like I have in other places. They will not let me, understandably, I guess, it would cross the border — and take a look at what’s going on in Ukraine.”
While in Poland, President Biden says he is “disappointed” he can’t see the humanitarian crisis in Ukraine firsthand. “They will not let me, understandably, I guess, cross the border and take a look at what’s going on in Ukraine,” Biden says.
— Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) March 25, 2022
Biden seemingly grumbled about his handlers’ insistence that he stay out of Ukraine.
Biden says, “I’m here in Poland to see first hand the humanitarian crisis and quite frankly part of my disappointment is i can’t see it first hand like i have in other places. They won’t let me, understandably, cross the border.” pic.twitter.com/ZRRyyj2XET
— Jarrett Renshaw (@JarrettRenshaw) March 25, 2022
He didn’t elaborate on which executive employees were forbidding him to go.
Obviously, a presidential visit to a country facing an invasion would present serious security and logistical challenges.
However, the buck stops with the president, ultimately.
The Secret Service is obligated to provide protection and security services to the commander in chief regardless of his travel plans.
But its agents can’t simply order him to do what they say.
They advise the president but they don’t control his travel plans and movements.
Some Twitter users were not impressed with Biden’s remark.
Biden says “they won’t let me” go into Ukraine. Is he a child or POTUS? Wonder if his handlers make him stay at the dinner table until he finishes his vegetables?
— Kevin Hughes (@realkrh80) March 25, 2022
I have NEVER heard a President say “they won’t let me”.
Biden says it frequently. So he IS NOT President … “they” are.
Biden says ‘they will not let me’ cross into Ukraine on European trip.
— Gramma Toody (@GrammaToody) March 25, 2022
It’s very rare for a president to disregard the security advice of his Secret Service detail, but it’s not unprecedented.
Such tensions came up in 2018 when then-President Donald Trump spiked a visit to a World War II cemetery in Europe in response to their advice.
Trump sought to drive to the rural cemetery from Paris in a motorcade, only for the agency to object to such a plan, according to Military.com.
If Biden can’t visit Ukraine, he should explain the security concerns of such an idea himself rather claiming he’s not being permitted to go.
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